Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Spring may have actually sprung...
On several fronts:
Survivable scootering weather seems to be upon us after, thanks to global warming, an unusual April cold snap. It appears that spring is finally taking hold.
ABC 33/40 7-Day weather discussion
On the SCA front: Following the untimely passing of our much beloved Royal Majesties, our beloved Royal heirs, Ailgheanan and Amber, have stepped forward to assume the throne, and Their coronation was held the weekend past. Long live King Ailgheanan and Queen Amber!
The Kingdom of Meridies
Here at Castle Clifton, life goes on. I have acquired blades and drive belt for the lawn muncher, and look forward to their installation, probably tomorrow, so that care and grooming of the Estate can take place. I will also build a base for my tire changer, so that needed motor scooter tire replacement can be done, and I must have a battery for the trike, to replace the present one, which is failing.
The long, long list of needed projects around here grows ever longer. We are making preparations for Sandy to leave in a couple of weeks; she is flying north to visit the daughter, and will stay probably 2-3 weeks, and/or until she and Lindsay get tired of each other. Lindsay is about 20 mi north of Chicago, in the town of Crystal Lake, within the Chicago metro Area. This trip will be an eye-opener for Sandy - Birmingham, Alabama is the largest city with which she has experience.(we live in a suburb town adjoining Birmingham)
Birmingham is the 68th largest US city, with an in-city population of about 233,000, with a Metro Area population of about 1.2Million, and the total population of the state of Alabama is 4.2M - Chicago has an in-city population 2.8M, and a Metro Area population of 9.3M, so Sandy is traveling to a place where a four-county area has twice the population of our entire state! Lindsay is planning to take her into Chicago, to eat pizza and hot dogs, and see some sights. Sandy was stunned at the idea of taking a commuter train from Crystal Lake into Chicago, and that these trains run about once an hour. One does not drive, of course, since traffic is horrendous, and there is no parking as a general rule, and Lindsay has had to explain to her that they will train into the city, and buy one-day bus passes to move around in town, ideas totally new to Sandy. It will be quite the experience for her.
There is something I look forward to, in a way – because of my state of health, Sandy is sometimes more protective of me than she needs to be, and with her not here, maybe I can get a couple of needed projects done with out her hovering over me. We will see.
We will have plenty of contact, though – we both have cellphones with nationwide long distance, and cell-to-cell calls between us are unlimited minutes. Sandy is taking her computer, and we will have Skype. It should be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her. I was a bachelor until age 26, and am perfectly capable of feeding myself, doing laundry, etc, so I will be fine.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Back from the War!
We are back from the big medieval war in Missisippi! Yes, we have been out o' touch - we were in the only motel in a 30-mile radius of the war site, originally an early Holiday Inn, about as old as I, and very little improved. No internet, unreliable reception of south Mississippi local TV, and no food, but there is hot water, and working A/C.
Attendance at the war was about 4000, off the peak years, but more than the last two. It was a good time - good people, fighting and other activities well planned and executed. It always amazes me how smoothly and well this thing runs with an entirely volunteer staff and workforce. The "winning side" of the war has yet to be determined, as points and bonus values are still being compiled, but it really doesn't matter; it is promoted as "A War With No Enemies". Sandy earned volunteer points for our Shire by putting in more than 20 hours working Troll [registration]. There was attendance from almost 30 states including Wisconsin and California, and from Ontario, Canada. The merchant Renaissance Clothing Arts was there, so I can say that I went there, did that, and got the t-shirt!
Sandy and I are about at the end of our energy reserves, but content.
Local SCA events happen somewhere in the kingdom almost every weekend, but this is the only large war in the southeast. The dogs of war have been kenneled, at least until next year, when the Oracles have determined that the uneasy peace will collapse, and the Kingdoms of Trimaris [the Florida peninsula] and Ansteorra [Texas and Oklahoma] will again go to war, and will march against each other, again meeting in the Kingdom of Glenn Abhann, in their province of Mississippi, and war will again rage. The Crowns of my Kingdom [Meridies] have pledged to monitor the situation closely, and to keep the populace informed, should we again be called to ally with our neighboring Kingdom, to defend their fair lands. More information to come as our scouts and observers collect knowledge.
www.gulfwars.org
Attendance at the war was about 4000, off the peak years, but more than the last two. It was a good time - good people, fighting and other activities well planned and executed. It always amazes me how smoothly and well this thing runs with an entirely volunteer staff and workforce. The "winning side" of the war has yet to be determined, as points and bonus values are still being compiled, but it really doesn't matter; it is promoted as "A War With No Enemies". Sandy earned volunteer points for our Shire by putting in more than 20 hours working Troll [registration]. There was attendance from almost 30 states including Wisconsin and California, and from Ontario, Canada. The merchant Renaissance Clothing Arts was there, so I can say that I went there, did that, and got the t-shirt!
Sandy and I are about at the end of our energy reserves, but content.
Local SCA events happen somewhere in the kingdom almost every weekend, but this is the only large war in the southeast. The dogs of war have been kenneled, at least until next year, when the Oracles have determined that the uneasy peace will collapse, and the Kingdoms of Trimaris [the Florida peninsula] and Ansteorra [Texas and Oklahoma] will again go to war, and will march against each other, again meeting in the Kingdom of Glenn Abhann, in their province of Mississippi, and war will again rage. The Crowns of my Kingdom [Meridies] have pledged to monitor the situation closely, and to keep the populace informed, should we again be called to ally with our neighboring Kingdom, to defend their fair lands. More information to come as our scouts and observers collect knowledge.
www.gulfwars.org
Monday, February 27, 2012
Really?
Someone said to me recently that he thought my scooter was kinda cool, but that he could never ride one, because he still cares what people think of him. Well, I too care what people think of me! I hope people will think that I am independent minded, one who works with the resources I have (my battered and cut off legs), a person with a sense of humor, and someone who doesn't take himself too seriously.
My Honda Silver Wing will cruise the freeways at extra-legal speeds, my creaky old Honda Elite 250 will go anywhere that I want it to go at 55 mph (made many, many out-of-state trips pre-SilverWing), and my funky Sunny reverse trike is not only a handy and economical around-town bike, but also a conversation-starter almost anywhere it goes. My penis is large enough for my purposes, and I feel no need to make myself think it larger by riding a heavy, loud, overpriced motorcycle. I have as much fun on my scoots as anyone I know does on their Harley. I also prefer quiet bikes, so I can more easily hear the traffic around me - those car drivers are generally not used to recognizing and dealing with right-of-way issues with motorcycles, and I need to keep track of what they are doing!
I don't say all this to make people mad, to be unnecessarily disrespectful, or to dismiss anyone who rides and enjoys large bikes, but only to explain my position. I have an odd, but highly-developed sense of honor and respect, and while I automatically give a certain respect to everyone, I find that my respect for others varies, much as the "point value" that I maintain in my wife's eyes - I gain points one at a time, but I can lose them in multiples. In much the same way, one who refers to my Sunny as "chink crap", as someone recently did, loses units of respect in multiples in my mind. I use the word "chink" in its original meaning (a flaw or damaged area) in reference to armor (actual armor, as used in my medieval society, where a weak spot in one's armor can get one hurt), a sidewall flaw in a tire, a roof leak, and many other contexts, but never as a reference to Asians, and one who does loses it with me. Nor do I refer to someone else's vehicle as "crap", even if I think it is.
Drive what you like, ride what you like, eat what you like, weigh what you like - if you have respect for yourself, I don't care, and I will talk to you, and may even find you interesting...
My Honda Silver Wing will cruise the freeways at extra-legal speeds, my creaky old Honda Elite 250 will go anywhere that I want it to go at 55 mph (made many, many out-of-state trips pre-SilverWing), and my funky Sunny reverse trike is not only a handy and economical around-town bike, but also a conversation-starter almost anywhere it goes. My penis is large enough for my purposes, and I feel no need to make myself think it larger by riding a heavy, loud, overpriced motorcycle. I have as much fun on my scoots as anyone I know does on their Harley. I also prefer quiet bikes, so I can more easily hear the traffic around me - those car drivers are generally not used to recognizing and dealing with right-of-way issues with motorcycles, and I need to keep track of what they are doing!
I don't say all this to make people mad, to be unnecessarily disrespectful, or to dismiss anyone who rides and enjoys large bikes, but only to explain my position. I have an odd, but highly-developed sense of honor and respect, and while I automatically give a certain respect to everyone, I find that my respect for others varies, much as the "point value" that I maintain in my wife's eyes - I gain points one at a time, but I can lose them in multiples. In much the same way, one who refers to my Sunny as "chink crap", as someone recently did, loses units of respect in multiples in my mind. I use the word "chink" in its original meaning (a flaw or damaged area) in reference to armor (actual armor, as used in my medieval society, where a weak spot in one's armor can get one hurt), a sidewall flaw in a tire, a roof leak, and many other contexts, but never as a reference to Asians, and one who does loses it with me. Nor do I refer to someone else's vehicle as "crap", even if I think it is.
Drive what you like, ride what you like, eat what you like, weigh what you like - if you have respect for yourself, I don't care, and I will talk to you, and may even find you interesting...
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Sidewalk Shortage...
There is a subject that has been very much bugging me lately - sidewalks. Sounds like a simple thing, but these days, sidewalks seem an ignored and neglected thing, due to plentiful private cars and a society that no longer walks. I began my stroll on this mortal coil in the East Lake section of Birmingham. This is part of the "core area" of Birmingham, built from 1871 - the early 1940s. When I was a mere kidlet in East Lake, starting from the intersection of 10th Av south and 81st St, one could actually travel through the East Lake, Woodlawn, Wahouma, and Avondale communities, through downtown Birmingham, through the Elyton and West End areas, to Fair Park, a distance of more than 25 miles, on sidewalks.
In the post WWII era, residential suburbs began to sprout up, and formed different communities, and the sidewalk paradigm came to an end.
My address is in Trussville, Alabama. Trussville began as a depression-era government project in the mid-1930s, in a flat valley encompassing part of the Cahaba River. The land was unsuitable for farming, but was suitable for suburban housing. Fired by the vision of project manager W. H. Kestler, the "Cahaba Project" went up, opening in April 1938. Homes were sturdily built, with indoor plumbing, running water, electricity, septic systems, and amenities rare at that time in much of Alabama. The project included 287 residential units, duplexes and single-family homes, all of which still stand today. The government also built a high school and cooperative store, interspersing the area with malls, paved streets and parks. And sidewalks - sidewalks everywhere. After WWII, development went on, but no longer included the sidewalks, as the postwar booming economy was selling everyone cars! Trussville, named after Warren Truss, who settled in the area in 1820 and built a mill on the Cahaba river, incorporated as a city in 1948.
Today, Trussville has "sprawled" into separated residential communities, major shopping areas, and all the goodies that go with being a modern small city. There is no way to get anywhere on foot (in my case, by mobility scooter). From the original housing area, The sidewalks end at Main St. (which is also US Hiway 11) and in the other direction at Trussville-Clay Road. There is a major supermarket across Main St, but no way to get there on foot. There are traffic lights but no marked pedestrian crossings, and getting across on foot would be an extreme adventure, and of course, if one makes it across the street safely, there are no sidewalks on the other side. In the original core neighborhood, there are no businesses, and only an elementary school, in the original high school building. The community center used to be there, but now has been replaced with a much larger, more modern center near the new middle and high schools, and none of these have foot access. What a shame.
My maternal grandmother lived in the city of Fairfield for 60 years, and did not own a car. Fairfield is an old town in the Alabama sense, originally incorporated under the name Corey in 1911. And yes, there were sidewalks everywhere, built as part of the original city planning. My grandmother did her shopping, churchgoing, bill paying, and whatever business by walking sidewalks, from her home on 41st street to downtown, with her hand-truck-looking shopping basket. My mother and her siblings traveled to school, to the park, and wherever else, on sidewalks.
How we have changed...
In the post WWII era, residential suburbs began to sprout up, and formed different communities, and the sidewalk paradigm came to an end.
My address is in Trussville, Alabama. Trussville began as a depression-era government project in the mid-1930s, in a flat valley encompassing part of the Cahaba River. The land was unsuitable for farming, but was suitable for suburban housing. Fired by the vision of project manager W. H. Kestler, the "Cahaba Project" went up, opening in April 1938. Homes were sturdily built, with indoor plumbing, running water, electricity, septic systems, and amenities rare at that time in much of Alabama. The project included 287 residential units, duplexes and single-family homes, all of which still stand today. The government also built a high school and cooperative store, interspersing the area with malls, paved streets and parks. And sidewalks - sidewalks everywhere. After WWII, development went on, but no longer included the sidewalks, as the postwar booming economy was selling everyone cars! Trussville, named after Warren Truss, who settled in the area in 1820 and built a mill on the Cahaba river, incorporated as a city in 1948.
Today, Trussville has "sprawled" into separated residential communities, major shopping areas, and all the goodies that go with being a modern small city. There is no way to get anywhere on foot (in my case, by mobility scooter). From the original housing area, The sidewalks end at Main St. (which is also US Hiway 11) and in the other direction at Trussville-Clay Road. There is a major supermarket across Main St, but no way to get there on foot. There are traffic lights but no marked pedestrian crossings, and getting across on foot would be an extreme adventure, and of course, if one makes it across the street safely, there are no sidewalks on the other side. In the original core neighborhood, there are no businesses, and only an elementary school, in the original high school building. The community center used to be there, but now has been replaced with a much larger, more modern center near the new middle and high schools, and none of these have foot access. What a shame.
My maternal grandmother lived in the city of Fairfield for 60 years, and did not own a car. Fairfield is an old town in the Alabama sense, originally incorporated under the name Corey in 1911. And yes, there were sidewalks everywhere, built as part of the original city planning. My grandmother did her shopping, churchgoing, bill paying, and whatever business by walking sidewalks, from her home on 41st street to downtown, with her hand-truck-looking shopping basket. My mother and her siblings traveled to school, to the park, and wherever else, on sidewalks.
How we have changed...
Sunday, December 18, 2011
The Occupy movement: I don't get it...
I must admit that I just don't "get" the Occupy movement. Perhaps it is because I am just a simple southern boy, and don't grasp things well, but by my observation, these people just do not understand their own purpose, nor realize or appreciate what they do have.
They seem to be just angry at anyone who makes more or has more money than they do. That is not a noble attitude, it is just one of jealousy and envy. I see among this crowd so many signs declaring "Eat the Rich". The pity of it is that according to most of the world's population, they should be eating each other, because they are the rich! The "top 1%" thing - what does one have to earn to be, worldwide, among the top 1% of earners? According to World Bank economists, $34,200. The top 10%, $12,000. This is an extraordinarily wealthy nation - the bottom 5% in the ol' USA are better off than 68% of the world population. This is the crowd crying about their situation, squatting on and damaging public property, shitting on police cars, and loudly decrying corporate capitalism and the greed and wealth of the U.S. top 1%, while their message seems to be anger that *they* are unable to access jobs that would place *them* in the top 1%. I don't get it.
I have looked carefully at photos of these poor distraught folk - I see Gap, Old Navy and L.L. Bean clothing, North Face tents, high-line smart cellphones being used to access Facebook, Twitter, etc to spread their confused messages, while they are not holding signs made with poster board and Magic Marker pens, all the products of corporate capitalism.
One young lady (and from her language on camera, I am using the term loosely indeed) was angry that she has $44,000 in college loan debt, and is unable to find the high-paying job that she expected, and was cursing the banks that loaned the money to her. I don't get it. In my college days, if one could not manage the academic chops in K-12 to attain a scholarship, and could not afford to go to college full-time, one worked at whatever they could find while going to college part-time for as long as it took to attain a marketable degree in something useful, not Art History or anything "Studies". In a world where 18% of the adult population is illiterate, what is their problem? And incidentally, this situation is not new - there was a Masters degree in Sociology driving a fire truck at a local fire hall 30 years ago. My own daughter graduated high school with a 3.94 GPA, and scholarshipped her way through two earned Bachelors in Psychology and Criminology, just in time to be caught up in the present economy and widespread governmental mismanagement, with force reductions and hiring freezes in law enforcement - she works in a framing shop at a Hobby Lobby store. She is disappointed, but not wandering around with the Occupy crowd - she is too busy working at whatever she can to pay her bills.
I am still reeling from the whiny out-of-touch weirdo who, during the Obama campaign, explained that he was 27 years old and working for McDonalds with no benefits, and was essentially trying to find out if Barry was going to force McD's to provide him health insurance. 27 and working at Mickey's? Perhaps he had not considered that he was in that situation because he is a loser with poor planning skills and no motivation, and he ain't gonna get a better job waiting for the feddle gummint to force some company to give him one. I know an intelligent, attractive lady who has been married and divorced three times. She has given up on the dating/marriage thing after an epiphany - "I have been married to three fine men, and the marriages all fell apart. I just realized 'Hey, maybe it is me', and I don't want to punish another fine man that way". Clarity of vision...
Some of the Occupiers have admitted to interviewers that they quit their jobs to be there, and be part of a "noble cause". Here's a noble cause for you entitled, out-touch wackos: go beg to get your jobs back, Suck It Up, and try to do some better planning from now on. Sheesh.
They seem to be just angry at anyone who makes more or has more money than they do. That is not a noble attitude, it is just one of jealousy and envy. I see among this crowd so many signs declaring "Eat the Rich". The pity of it is that according to most of the world's population, they should be eating each other, because they are the rich! The "top 1%" thing - what does one have to earn to be, worldwide, among the top 1% of earners? According to World Bank economists, $34,200. The top 10%, $12,000. This is an extraordinarily wealthy nation - the bottom 5% in the ol' USA are better off than 68% of the world population. This is the crowd crying about their situation, squatting on and damaging public property, shitting on police cars, and loudly decrying corporate capitalism and the greed and wealth of the U.S. top 1%, while their message seems to be anger that *they* are unable to access jobs that would place *them* in the top 1%. I don't get it.
I have looked carefully at photos of these poor distraught folk - I see Gap, Old Navy and L.L. Bean clothing, North Face tents, high-line smart cellphones being used to access Facebook, Twitter, etc to spread their confused messages, while they are not holding signs made with poster board and Magic Marker pens, all the products of corporate capitalism.
One young lady (and from her language on camera, I am using the term loosely indeed) was angry that she has $44,000 in college loan debt, and is unable to find the high-paying job that she expected, and was cursing the banks that loaned the money to her. I don't get it. In my college days, if one could not manage the academic chops in K-12 to attain a scholarship, and could not afford to go to college full-time, one worked at whatever they could find while going to college part-time for as long as it took to attain a marketable degree in something useful, not Art History or anything "Studies". In a world where 18% of the adult population is illiterate, what is their problem? And incidentally, this situation is not new - there was a Masters degree in Sociology driving a fire truck at a local fire hall 30 years ago. My own daughter graduated high school with a 3.94 GPA, and scholarshipped her way through two earned Bachelors in Psychology and Criminology, just in time to be caught up in the present economy and widespread governmental mismanagement, with force reductions and hiring freezes in law enforcement - she works in a framing shop at a Hobby Lobby store. She is disappointed, but not wandering around with the Occupy crowd - she is too busy working at whatever she can to pay her bills.
I am still reeling from the whiny out-of-touch weirdo who, during the Obama campaign, explained that he was 27 years old and working for McDonalds with no benefits, and was essentially trying to find out if Barry was going to force McD's to provide him health insurance. 27 and working at Mickey's? Perhaps he had not considered that he was in that situation because he is a loser with poor planning skills and no motivation, and he ain't gonna get a better job waiting for the feddle gummint to force some company to give him one. I know an intelligent, attractive lady who has been married and divorced three times. She has given up on the dating/marriage thing after an epiphany - "I have been married to three fine men, and the marriages all fell apart. I just realized 'Hey, maybe it is me', and I don't want to punish another fine man that way". Clarity of vision...
Some of the Occupiers have admitted to interviewers that they quit their jobs to be there, and be part of a "noble cause". Here's a noble cause for you entitled, out-touch wackos: go beg to get your jobs back, Suck It Up, and try to do some better planning from now on. Sheesh.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Re: December 15
Re: December 15. Thirty two years ago today, more by luck than good planning, I stood, in an uncomfortable suit, before a room full of people, and vowed to bind myself emotionally and legally to Sandy, a lady of intelligence and decency. She has suffered long, through my weirdness and devastating medical problems, and has remained my partner, confidant, lover, and best friend. She is better than I deserve. Love you, baby. Happy anniversary!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Still recovering, and feeling useless...
Even more "excitement" - I had a spell of reduced heart function, apparently because of the illnesses, and the Edema Fairie set in on me. I looked much like the Michelin Man for a few days, until the industrial-strength dieuretics got me back to normal. And no, I have not been scooter-riding, or going much of anywhere - when I was all "swole up" (southern medical term) I did not have the sense to remove my prosthetic foots, and kept wearing them during the day, such that the stumps were very tight in the sockets, and I now am healing up pressure sores and abrasions on the stumps, and I have not been able to wear the fake foots for about the last month, and have been largely immobile. I have made it out of the house for a few things, but traveling is a chore, and exhausting.
Anyway, enough complaining. I am building a do-list which gets longer by the day, so I expect to be quite busy for who knows how how long. On the scooters alone, I have to change out the tires on the trike, and replace all the coolant hoses on the Elite, plus general housekeeping on all three. Here in the house, I am attacking things a room at the time, mostly cleaning and organizing, to reduce the junkies. The beat goes on...
Anyway, enough complaining. I am building a do-list which gets longer by the day, so I expect to be quite busy for who knows how how long. On the scooters alone, I have to change out the tires on the trike, and replace all the coolant hoses on the Elite, plus general housekeeping on all three. Here in the house, I am attacking things a room at the time, mostly cleaning and organizing, to reduce the junkies. The beat goes on...
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