Thanksgiving, 1789

George Washington's proclamation was not without controversy.

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By MELANIE KIRKPATRICK

It is hard to imagine America's favorite holiday as a source of political controversy. But that was the case in 1789, the year of our first Thanksgiving as a nation.

The controversy began on Sept. 25 in New York City, then the seat of government. The inaugural session of the first Congress was about to recess when Rep. Elias Boudinot of New Jersey rose to introduce a resolution. He asked the House to create a joint committee with the Senate to "wait upon the President of the United States, to request that he would recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the many signal favors of Almighty God."

The congressman made special reference to the Constitution, which had been ratified by the requisite two-thirds of the states in 1788. A day of public thanksgiving, he believed, would allow Americans to express gratitude to God for the "opportunity peaceably to establish a Constitution of government for their safety and happiness."

Boudinot's resolution sparked a vigorous debate. Rep. Aedanus Burke of South Carolina objected on the grounds that a Thanksgiving was too European. He "did not like this mimicking of European customs, where they made a mere mockery of thanksgivings."

Rep. Thomas Tudor Tucker, also of South Carolina, raised two further objections. "Why should the President direct the people to do what, perhaps, they have no mind to do?" he asked. "If a day of thanksgiving must take place," he said, "let it be done by the authority of the several States."

 

Tucker's second reservation had to do with separation of church and state. Proclaiming a day of Thanksgiving "is a religious matter," he said, "and, as such, proscribed to us." The Bill of Rights would not be ratified until 1791—but Congress had just approved the wording of First Amendment, and that debate was fresh in everyone's mind.

It fell to a New Englander to stand up in support of Thanksgiving. Connecticut's Roger Sherman praised Boudinot's resolution as "a laudable one in itself." It also was "warranted by a number of precedents" in the Bible, he said, "for instance the solemn thanksgivings and rejoicings which took place in the time of Solomon, after the building of the temple."

In the end, the Thanksgiving resolution passed—the precise vote is not recorded—and the House appointed a committee. The resolution moved to the Senate, which passed it and added its own members to the committee.

The committee took the resolution to the president, and on Oct. 3 George Washington issued his now-famous Thanksgiving Proclamation. In it, he designated Thursday, Nov. 26, 1789 as "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer." He asked Americans to render their "sincere and humble thanks" to God for "his kind care and protection of the People of this Country."

It was his first presidential proclamation, and it was well heeded. According to the "Papers of George Washington," compiled by the University of Virginia, Thanksgiving Day was "widely celebrated throughout the nation." Newspapers around the country published the proclamation and announced plans for public functions in honor of the day. Religious services were held, and churches solicited donations for the poor. Washington himself sent $25 to a pastor in New York City, requesting that the funds be "applied towards relieving the poor of the Presbyterian Churches," in the words of his secretary.

Thanksgiving feasts in New England at the time of the nation's founding were similar to those today, says Charles Lyle, director of the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum in Wethersfield, Conn. The museum recently hosted an 18th-century-style Thanksgiving dinner using recipes supplied by a local food historian, Paul Courchaine. Turkey and pumpkin pie were on the menu, along with venison pie, roast goose, roast pork, butternut squash, creamed onions, pottage of cabbage, onions and leeks, and Indian pudding, made from cornmeal and spices.

In a bow to contemporary tastes, several wines were served at the museum but not the one Americans were likely to have drunk in the 18th century—Madeira, a high-alcohol-content wine fortified with brandy. Before the Revolution, Madeira, which came from the Portuguese-owned Madeira Islands, was considered a patriotic beverage, since it was not subject to British taxation. It was Washington's favorite drink.

Washington was keenly aware of his role as a model for future presidents. He once remarked that "There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not be hereafter drawn into precedent." That included his Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789, which set the standard for Thanksgiving Proclamations by future presidents, a list that included James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, and then every president up to the present day.

The tradition begun by George Washington has survived without further controversy. Since the original debate in the House in September 1789, no member of Congress has complained that Thanksgiving proclamations are too European, a violation of the separation of church and state or, most especially, not what the American people want.

Ms. Kirkpatrick, a former deputy editor of the Journal's editorial page, is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. She is the author of "Escape from North Korea: The Untold Story of Asia's Underground Railroad" (Encounter Books, 2012).

The nature of human things

       Now to me, if we humans do A, then things like B will usually happen.

            After the last USA election, that seems to be what is happening, like we continue to drain the well, like kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Now this is not just the politicians, but the voters, too.

            Let me say this another way. The present political philosophy of making things better has to be financed, and if we can't finance it, then it is a dumb idea in the end. And we voters will ultimately pay the price.

            So these days after the recent American election, I just want to make some electricity, and grow food.  That's it where I live.

            So I suspect, really forecast, that many things will probably happen in the USA in the next decade or so. Now just when is up for grabs.

            For example, appeasement usually brings war after a dragged out period, with many millions dying as a result. In the case of WWII started by Hitler (a regional dictator in my opinion), some astute people could have cut him off early enough, but that didn't happen. So much for our ancestors and their votes and their leaders. Now it's our turn, and it sure looks like we are doing what our ancestors did.

            And humans, being mammals, too, that implies we have a stampede instinct, like the results of economic collapse, which usually degrades to even poor health and pandemics, like in Haiti after the big earthquake there. Now we all do get old and die of old age, but getting things like cholera is not something I seek as a way to die. There's an idea called quality of life that appeals to me.

            And of course there is another basic idea called security. Some may say every man for themselves. Even serfs looked out for themselves and their Families. But if people are cold and hungry, then they will do what they have to do to survive, to include supporting their own Families. And in this case, I have to defend myself and my Family as best I can. Yep I am willing to shoot somebody, too.  The obvious examples are home invasion, or stealing my food I need to eat, too.

            So what's going to happen?  Nobody knows for sure.

            Hope does spring eternal. For example, if things sort out better, maybe we'll just enter the 30 year decline Zimbabwe is going through, though that is an ugly process as I read. And of course, I may be wrong, and a better time blossoms.

            But for sure I have recently  put in a new higher tech wood stove next door in my second cottage. It should burn wood all night, and I can cook and bake on it, too. After all we humans really don't like being cold and hungry, if it even comes to that.

            Can you believe I should think and plan this way in the new world USA in 2012?

Quality buying in the USA these days

       It's easier than I thought. And I used to call my old man cheap, but now that I am an old man, I now call him thrifty. He's been dead over 10 years, by the way.

            On the quality buying idea, be prepared to pay more for things that should last five or ten years, like can openers. There are many can openers around, as my example, but some are clearly better than others, and last longer, too. That is an obvious example of quality buying paying off in the long run.

            As a rule, the longer lasting things tend to be made in the USA, Germany, and Japan, but really it is the company who makes things that gets my attention. And the customer reviews are a big deal to me, now that I can get them on the Internet. Let me say this another way, the workers are pretty good, but the leaders I sometimes question.

            A father-in-law (also now deceased) who had been promoted up from the assembly line to management and who worked for Chevrolet in Detroit once commented to me that the present leaders at the time were running the Company into the ground (in his opinion), and he predicted it would take decades to catch up. It sure looks like it has, which is not always fair because maybe today's leaders have gotten the hint about how important quality is if you want to stay in business.

            Now one more example of quality comes to mind. Fifty years later I am still using a tool box/kit I purchased in the 1960's to do simple things like home repairs, even putting in a new wood stove this last weekend. Of course I have added to it over time, but that is probably just a personal hobby kind of thing. And of course I do the work both to save money, and also think I know the job is done OK.  That appeals to me.

            And last on pursuing quality, I always make sure of three things. First is when food shopping, use a list you brought with you (either written or in your mind); and don't food shop when you're hungry.  Second is actually doing a hard thing, like deciding what is important to you/me, like your/my objectives, and letting that decide your/my decisions. Third is just to shop around, which does take time, but the results are often amazing.

            An old expression comes to mind, here. It is easier to give advice than to live it, like follow your own advice.

            Last as examples, even I have three good quality can openers where I live, one made in the USA, one made in China, and one an old fashioned simple enough design made for the military in hard times. Now I am also using a magnetic induction rice cooker make in Japan, and if times get hard, will use the modern version of old fashioned German made saws to keep my wood stoves working OK.

Lying as a way to rule

       Many have tried it throughout history, and it does work for a period of time. But then someone finally says something like the king has no clothes. Of course it usually takes a gullible population to accept this method when it is being used. And of course it also is usually used by a con man.

            The effects are also obvious. Usually many people become jaded and even cynical, like you can't trust what the government says. Or a business goes under. Upon such things political change usually comes. Sometimes it's the vote, but sometimes it is more like a revolution or a civil war, or a business going under.

            It is difficult making good decisions without the facts that you trust.

            As for me, I am in-between, like I now read my own reports and interpret them as best I can.

            But for sure, I no longer trust any report out of my new world USA federal government.

            What a shame, especially that so many people will probably die as a result.

            As for me, all I want to do is make some electricity, grow food, protect it and me and my Family and friends, and make sure I can be warm enough during the cold season. This an example of what happens when lying as a way to rule catches up. And of course there is a Plan B, like deal with the facts.

A jack of all trades and a master of none

            This post is just from the hinterlands in the new world USA. In my case, it is east Tennessee.

            What I learned in 9th grade wood shop class paid off again. Now that was around 50 years ago and in urban Virginia outside of D.C.

            The new wood stove is hooked up and working, and burning off the usual initial foul smell.  I’ll check back in a while, but so far, so good.

            Like the smoke and carbon monoxide is going up the chimney, vice into the house.

            Now I did put in a “damper” in the exhaust pipe, too; and that seems to be working OK, too.

            Now I do have some final “tune up” work to do, like maybe 1 or 2% of my time. That is as was planned for.

            The earlier more primitive wood stove is nearby, and I will move it probably to the Cliff Pond shelter to help the effort there, mostly to help refugees during the cold season if it comes  to that. Even one can cook off of it, if we need to. By the way, one can cook and bake off of the new wood stove, too.

            Now this older wood stove weighs a lot (like 200 pounds), but I will use human ingenuity to make it happen OK.

One Twinkie at a time

        While I join the chorus lamenting the going out of business of the Hostess Company and its iconic brand Twinkie I more directly lament the loss of the reported 18,500 jobs of people right before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday periods. While I have not had a Twinkie in ages, I have routinely had other baked products like the various breads from the Merita line, owned by the Hostess Company. Hopefully some group will buy out some of the brands and keep them going, but it will be a tough few months at least for those who have lost their jobs and probably had their retirement expectations reduced or eliminated, too.

            Perhaps that's how a culture declines, like one Twinkie at a time. I saw on Fox TV News this morning a story about misspellings on a stone carved Ten Commandments, so this probable cultural problem is across the board. Now I embrace change as usually good, though often painful too, but even I have some expectations of a better world in the future, vice what seems to be unfolding in front of our eyes.

            Said another way, I don't mind listening to people railing against the "system", but I expect the same people to propose alternatives to make things better. There's nothing wrong with complaining, but I wish our collective outcome is best determined by "us", vice some ragtag mob type of action.

            In the meantime, kind of like one Twinkie at a time, I am doing the final hookup (hopefully) today of the new wood stove, and will then burn it out to get rid of the smell that usually comes from first use of any metal wood stove. I really dislike being cold and hungry, having lived that way in part of my past.

            By the way, this new wood stove with a bimetal thermostat (the old fashioned design, like it doesn't need electricity) replaces a more primitive wood stove, which also works and will end up elsewhere. But with the more "modern" thermostat, I think the stove will go all night without people having to get up and restock the stove with wood.

            Yep, I liked a lot of Hostess Company brands, too, but being warm and fed and safe is also a big deal to me, too. Like I said, one Twinkie at a time. And it works both ways. And we all do matter and count in our efforts to make change for the better, vice some riff raff type outcome. And of course, we have Families to think and worry about, too.

Dampers 101

       This post focuses on dampers, mostly for wood stove flues.

            Now for indoor fires, mostly they need air in, and air out, like most of us don't like smoke or carbon monoxide poisoning directly related to the fire, all this as a part of the air out part of things.  Better up the chimney than into the room I live in.

            As to fireplaces, most have dampers, mostly to keep the warmer air in the house when the fireplace is not being used.  Otherwise it is usually set on full open. Yep, it is a manual setting.

            As to wood stoves, the dampers are a way to keep the warmth in the wood stove and the house heating for a longer period of time before the warm air and smoke ultimately goes up the chimney. The theory is that more modern wood stoves mostly use bimetal spring thermostats to control the air in, and let all the resulting warm air go up the chimney. Again the theory is that older type stoves also depend on best heating when using a damper on the output side of things. In this case it is kind of like learning the "personality" of whatever you setup or use, i.e. trial and error works OK. For example too much "damping" will slow down the fire too much, and one's Family won't be happy.

            Last there are both home manufactured flues, and even some store bought ones. Both work about the same. Even homework on all this in on the Internet for those interested.

            One more last. It is an OK idea to get a flue thermometer. There are many available. But one can also use their own eye, like if the exhaust pipe is glowing red hot, you have probably screwed up somewhere, and will probably get excited as to what to do.

            And I agree with the conventional wisdom that one must "burn off" a wood stove because the smell is noticeable, at least to me.  That generally only takes one use, but one does have to do this if one doesn't want their Family to smell the initial result.

Solar update at the Hemlocks

       This post just focuses on lessons learned, i.e. no politics.

            Bottom line, my present setup works, kinda.

            First the situation here. Two days ago was very cloudy and rainy, and the solar power production was close to zero then. My battery bank had been drawn down prior to then. I am at 36 degrees north latitude in east Tennessee, not an ideal place to use solar, even as a backup to a backup like I use it for.

            But I am using it today (the weather is just partly cloudy with no rain) to keep my freezer with all my storage seeds and food going OK. The intent is just to extend the shelf life of the stuff in the 7.2 cu.ft. freezer I use for such a purpose. Now my experience after two months is that this electrical demand will eventually draw down my high tech and big battery bank. Now this battery bank is independent of my water turbine battery bank, too. The basic idea is that the solar charger has to fill its battery bank. And today is around freezing, so the chemical activity in the batteries (still outside in this experiment) is probably down. And I am just trying to prove to myself I can live off the grid on my own. And again my main source of off grid electricity is water turbine powered, which I can do here locally. And my main source of public electricity is TVA, which is pretty good around here these days.

            So my solar update today is that it is touch and go if I have to depend on it.

            Thank goodness I have plastic containers to keep the mice out, if I have to go that route as another weather dependent fall back.

Oh We Humans

            Here's some expressions that seem to apply to many of us.

            For lack of knowing what to do, we do what we know.

            I respect all my seniors, some more than others.

            We usually exhaust all other possibilities before doing the best thing.

            Stupidity is repeating the same mistakes hoping for a different outcome.

            If all else fails, read the directions.

            There is no school for Presidents.

            Here's some of my own.

            There are few born leaders; most of us have to be taught or try figure it out.

            There is a big difference between being chewed out, and insulted. Most of us appreciate being professionally and critically reviewed. Most of us will never forgive those that insult us.

            We have a tendency to put more eggs in one basket as the preferred solution.

            Why do we try solve yesterday's problems when we were growing up, today?

            Our ancestors were pretty smart, too.

            While the technology is better today, we humans are still about the same as even thousands of years ago.

            Melting down old coins for value usually negates all the artistic and sentimental value.

            There is no school for parents.

            There's usually two good ways to get ahead. One is to make your boss happy; two is to get the mission accomplished.

            There's things you learn in school, and there's things you learn out of school. In that regards, sports of any kind can be another way to both teach, and to learn.

             It's more important to start a project, than to finish a project. This especially applies to Family genealogy.

             Why do we humans tend to go for a perfect plan later, rather than a good plan now?

            I am confident many others have their own guiding expressions, too.

Electricity 101

       I'm always trying to put things in perspective. So here's my Georgia Tech basics on the alternating electricity (often abbreviated to AC) that comes into our homes.  Battery powered devices, like cell phones and flashlights (torches in many parts of the world) is another subject.

            Electricity is just a form of energy. Other forms presently used in many homes are wood, natural gas (from methane or denatured H2S gas), water (as in water wheels), oil and coal products (as in fuel oil for heat and gasoline for our cars and diesel for many cars and trucks), and even things like solar and wind and even manure piles, all often used to make electricity besides cooking and heat.

            That humans need and want energy goes back to caveman days, like the use of wood to make fire to be warm and cook with, including learning how to make the fire.

            And electricity can't be mined or stored, it has to be made from other energy sources, and sent into our homes for use. Presently in the USA most electricity is made from some combination of water, coal, natural gas, and nuclear.  And it can't be stored (hardly at all). So the amount and location of electrical generating plants and transmission lines is usually associated with demand areas. Well demand is always changing, like due to a growing population, or the increasing use of electricity (really the energy from it) for home and business purposes.

            Last electricity has only been around for a little over a century. Prior to its wildly popular use throughout the world and in the last century, we humans used other things for energy like water power (again as in water wheels as an example), animal power (like in squeezing sorghum to make sweets and molasses), and even wood and dry manure pods for heat and cooking (even to boil off collected maple sap) and even some light after the sun went down. Heck we even burned harvested whale oil for light, and also used it for cosmetics.

            In the end, all this energy comes from the sun.

            Now with present technology and already built and deployed electrical generation and transmission things, our electricity is usually made within 500 miles or less of where it is delivered for good economic reasons. Now to move it to more remote areas is both a technical problem which will probably take decades to both learn and implement; and is also a political and voting decision. After all, people live in remote areas, too, and as an example.

            The state of California comes to mind as to AC electrical generation to meet state legislated laws for clean air at home. Hence a lot of southern California's electrical demand is made in nearby Arizona.  

            Said another way, if one likes public electricity, how much? And how quick do you want to change present things, if you even do?  This also assumes the technology can change things for the better. And how willing are you to accept things like rolling black outs and its affect on your quality of life and our national economic future, to include our jobs?

            Here locally where I live in east Tennessee the benefits are obvious to me, like I do appreciate them and thank the people that make this happen. Like I can turn the switch on the wall, and get light to go to the bathroom by, 24/7. Or I can take a warm shower from an electrically heated water heater. Or I can drive my car with gas from pumps that are electrically powered and controlled. Or I can be warm during the cold season. The benefits go on and on...

            Anyway, these examples seem to be how important electricity is to we humans these days.  And this post has to do about electricity in general. And there won't be a test.

Golden Rule
       This post focuses on the Golden Rule, and how you may apply it to your relatives if and when times get hard. The idea is to think about things ahead of time, so if it comes to pass where you live, you may have a better idea of how you and your Family may act or react. Said another way, this is a usual way to think things out ahead of time. Of course you may be the relative who is "visiting", vice the relative who is "hosting". Either way, the idea is worth thinking about ahead of time. It's often just a hour or two of your time, mostly when discussing it with others important to you.

            Now the Golden Rule is basically "treating people like you want to be treated", or so it was taught to me by my parents.

            Now this post does not focus on friends, though that is worth thinking about, too. Friends, and non-friends, showing up on my doorstep is a probable thing where I live and if times get hard.

            Let me use myself as an example.

            Some of my relatives may vote early with their feet and come here to my doorstep. Others may try move later, and get through the probable roadblocks and checkpoints, often for shakedown purposes. Most won't make it.

            The popular story in the USA these days is of young people moving back in with their parents, often with a spouse, too. Now we all love our kids, and when they "fly the nest", that is often a good time to appreciate this event if you are a parent.

            My dilemma is usual when thinking ahead, like most people have this dilemma if they choose to think ahead. Basically, I like some relatives better than others. And even some relatives have been mean to me during better times. Just how do I treat them and their descendents during hard times when they need my help? Especially this question applies if they contributed to their present problems?  Even some may be just plain lazy?

            So in my process of thinking, I think I know what I will do if and when I am presented with the problem. Yep, I have thought about this dilemma ahead of time.

            I think of myself as a nice guy, but I can be hard if I need to be, too. This includes having gone through checkpoints and road blocks with a pistol on my lap. The pistol usually helped in my case at the time. I would add carry extra ammo, too. And show it, too.

            And as to relatives and other people needing my help, I will usually help them, as best I can. Priority goes to relatives.

            Just what will you do in your case, if this even happens to you?

The Piedmont Arts Festival in Atlanta

       Every once in a while you see and listen to something you may never forget. Such a thing happened to me.

            In this case it was a dance company doing their version of Joni Mitchell's song Both Sides Now. The time was circa 1983. I was inspired, and have never forgotten it.  Basically they were both singing and dancing in slow motion to the lyrics, which follow:

                        Bows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way

But now it's just another show
You leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away

I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way

Oh but now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost but something's gained
In living every day

I've looked at life from both sides now
From WIN and LOSE and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

I've looked at life from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all  

            Now I don't live in Atlanta, Georgia anymore, so I don't know much about the Festival these days.

            But for sure, I do remember this performance decades later.

Homemade chicken and dumplings

       It was made in a Japanese magnetic induction rice cooker to boot...and kept warm by the same machine. In that function it beats a slow cooker, at least to me. And the onions in it include some from Peru, which is still unbelievable to me in this small town in east Tennessee.

            Now this will be a relatively warm fall weather day here locally, and I think the chicken and dumplings are probably more a cooler day meal, but so what. That's the mood I was in, and I did use local grocery store food vice drawing down my stockpile.

            On drawing down a stockpile, one does not want to let anything go to waste, so drawing down the stockpile has good reasons, as long as I get newer inventory to replace it. None of this is rocket science. In the food service industry, it used to be called rotating the stock, and FIFO (first in first out) reigned supreme.

            Now I am thankful that I have public electricity to do all this cooking. The stories about the poor souls who do not have local power because of storm Sandy, nor know what to do without this energy, make me thankful for what I do have.  I even once lived in a canvas tent with a dirt floor where it never got above freezing for more than thirty days, but did OK because I knew what to do, and set my standards low enough. And I did not have electricity in this place in Korea.  And fortunately now (it was not too fun then), I have lived in other such existences elsewhere, too. Hence I really do appreciate what we do have here in east Tennessee. Heck, I live in a metal roofed cottage with wood floors and minimal heat, which is like a champ to me. Now I do wear long johns, kind of like the old days. And there is plenty of wood for the wood stove. And I still don't like cold showers.

            And the aroma from the chicken and dumplings is pretty good today.

Nor'easter

      Just what is a northeaster?

          Here's one link to try explain it:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nor'easter

Planning for the future

       Around five years ago I could confidently predict the process our USA nation is undergoing. So could many others.

            The next step, unfortunately, is when people quit loaning us money to finance our federal government, and we have to live within our means, which are considerable. This will probably happen in 2013.

            The usual story probably applies...kicking the can down the road will make the eventual collapse more painful and more full of suffering and death than it had to be. Here's one example, rolling blackouts of public electric power and the life style and economic impacts. Here's another example, my grandchildren when married can't afford a house payment because they have to work just to pay the national debt this present generation is incurring. Here's another example, some national calamity occurs and we have lightweights in charge, and don't expect much from them in the area of national defense that benefits us. Here's a last example, the dollar devalues enough to erode the economic power of the USA, and some regional war breaks out that we can do nothing about, and even have to suffer things like millions of deaths and downrange nuclear fallout.

            I really don't like being cold, wet, and hungry, and have been.

            And traditionally for we humans, A often leads to B.

            So I've shopped some things just to add to my own and my Family's defense. In the end, a good defense plan is best that depends on your own situation, and a well placed foxhole is part of that solution for me.  Can you believe I am even thinking this way in the new world USA. Yet I am.

            Now there is one obvious solution, which will take time (like until 2020 or later). It's called a third national political party. And it will probably be made up of today's democrats, republicans, independents, Americans all.

Lessons learned so far

       First this interim post is just about computer stuff.

            Second is that I have a computer hard drive failing, but have successfully used the conventional repair techniques to postpone the death. After all, all hard drives die eventually, as do we people, too. So anyway I have time to think about things that are to my advantage. Though I do think about it like a hang man's noose, eventually and unexpectedly the hard drive will fail, and it has already given me a hint that death is on the way.

            Third is that I am fairly faithful about backing up computer things that are important to me. Now that I have to actually invoke all of my previous backup things, of course I am now questioning just how well I did. My report card to myself so far is C +. Of course it is so much easier to give advice than to live it. That has been my disappointment with myself in too many ways.

            First the good news, and then the bad news.

            For the good news, I think I have backed up and stored most of the things important to me and my Family. Though with time there are things that surprise me, like favorite places I enjoy visiting on the internet, or email and calendar things which I like over the traditional mail and paper calendars, though I do use both. I have done a poor job in that respect, though if the hard drive keeps working for a while, I can take care of that, like correct my past errors.

            For the bad news, I still keep recent important things (backed up)  to me in one house, which of course can burn down unexpectantly. Now I do keep a back up copy (older) stored elsewhere, but that is months old. And my now old Company CPA even kept backup data in a separate building for the same reasoning. That's how important all this data was to him.

            To conclude for this interim report, do keep backup copies of what is important to you, as best you can.

            To many it is old time Family pictures, which I recommend should be scanned and stored somewhere else, as well as your home of course.

A person ahead of their time

       I suspect most people have heard that expression. It is usually a compliment often delivered posthumously.  I always accepted it as such.

            But then I started thinking. Mostly I thought about what it meant to the people at the time, and the alternatives that existed at that time.

            An obvious example exists these days. It's about energy use.

            I think we humans will run out of carbon based energy sources eventually (like in one or two centuries) and have to come up with something new. After all, we humans will still increase in numbers for the foreseeable future, and most individual's energy demands will most likely increase. And I don't know many people who want to return to older time days and less energy demands.  Heck we have worked so hard to have what we have today.

            And why do we have to go from A to Z in a short time? The obvious alternative is to evolve, like include steps B to Y along the way.

            So I've made up my mind that the phrase "a person was ahead of their time", while maybe a compliment, can also be construed as an off-handed condemnation that the person was not very effective during their time.

Empathy or sympathy?

       I had to look these words up, since they both are close to what I am thinking about the humans suffering through the results of  the latest superstorm to hit a region of the USA. What I read is terrible news, but also I admire the initiative of those suffering to survive, including our kids, though the adults might not say it right now.  No wonder we humans are still dominating the earth.

            As I write this it is even cold in my house, but at least above freezing so my pipes don't freeze. But I am still wearing long johns in several layers (with cotton shells) like many people do routinely during the cold season where they live. After all, it is the fall, with the winter coming on. And now this calamity in a USA region is thrown on top of that.

            So do I have empathy or sympathy for those just learning simple things like being cold and hungry?  The reports I read suggest many fellow citizens are astounded when the public water goes off, or you can't easily get food, or the availably of gas for energy messes up one's plans. Good on all the fellow Americans who have made this happen so far.  Or how about trying to be clean with clean cold water, if you can even get it. After all, preventive health is a big deal.  Or how about sex with a smelly person, which of course happens, since we are all here.

            Anyway, been there, done that. And I did not like it, but I did survive. And so can you.

            Last, I still I am not sure whether I feel empathy or sympathy.

            After all, these are tough times for many USA people.

Wild Lands

      I spent about one day in the last week or so exploring and looking for old time Ogam carvings under sandstone rock overhangs, which are generally weather protected. Ogam is an Irish Benedictine Monk invented language used around 700-800 AD, and there is some around 25 miles (40 Km) from here, so that was a good enough excuse for me to go out and about. Think of these monks as Catholic Church recruiters at the outset.

            While I did not find any Ogam, I have begun the process of informing many of the hunters and cave searchers around here of what it looks like, and if there is any Ogam, they will probably find it first, probably mixed with Indian carvings, old European carvings, and modern redneck carvings.

            Now people have been around here a long time. My oldest identified arrowhead is 9,500 years old, or so I am led to believe from two independent references. And during the last Ice Age, this area was south of the ice line, like not under the ice, but probably still was pretty cold. Everything I read and have studied suggests the ice line was maybe one to two hundred miles north of here, like in Kentucky or Ohio. Nobody knows for sure.

            And let me define "wild lands".  If I drop dead, my carcass may not be found until I start stinking next spring when things warm up. And there are plenty of wild critters who will probably eat some of me, too. Talk about recycling. Said another way, a lot of land around here is rough, remote, and with few people living in the remote areas. Little of it is virgin land, having been in agriculture and grazing as recently as a century ago, but for sure is forested land now. It's main use is periodic timbering, like twice a century, and hunting, mostly for deer and turkey around here.

            All the big game species, like Eastern Buffalo and Elk and the prairies they fed off of, are also long gone. So the local deer and turkeys have been reintroduced around here decades ago. There are even black bears around here, too. The native bears I think we pretty much ate them all, so the ones around here, including where I live, are probably reintroduced. I have an 1879 Maxwell House Christmas menu that includes leg of Cumberland Mountain black bear, by the way.

            So I usually explore with a partner for safety reasons. On my own land, which is pretty wild, too, if I don't have a partner, then I usually leave a map of the area I am going to be in, with departure and estimated return times, too. I know it is conventional wisdom, and a pain to do, but sure will help searchers if I get hurt or die. It was so much easier in the USA military, expecting medevac if I got hurt.

            Anyway, I have always been taught, and even by Hollywood movies, led to believe, that all rough and wild lands in the USA are in the Rocky Mountains or the Sierra Mountains, but even my time both in the military and the sport of orienteering,  know there are many wild lands around the earth. Bamboo vipers always worried me in Asia, for example. And DB Cooper disappeared into some wild lands in the USA, too. Even a friend of mine had to evade KGB helicopters while mapping an oil line in wild Siberia.

            At one older time, believe it or not, where I live used to be called the wild west.

            And several old jokes still apply, I think. For example, this land is so wild even the Bobcats hunt in packs. And this wild land has few roads, so generally people drive between the trees.

            Anyway, one "wild land" in the USA is in east Tennessee on the Cumberland Plateau and the Plateau edge areas, all east of the Mississippi River in the USA.