February in norCal & it feels like Spring, it looks like Spring but, it ain’t Spring......it’s false Spring but it’ll do until the real thing comes along....
we get spoiled here, darned if we don’t......winter temps that rarely get below 30o....daytime highs in the 50’s......
the worse part is when the skies get grey & cloudy & we don’t see the sun for a few weeks & it makes us cranky...
then in the middle of February comes false Spring & we come to life again......ragtops drop, bicycles proliferate, blooms & buds pop, and joggers & walkers come out of hibernation & politics take a temporary backseat..... God’s in his heaven and all’s right with the world.
It’s all an illusion, of course. Like a mirage. A magic trick by Mama Nature. A few days, a week or so, if we’re lucky.......the wind will turn, the skies will darken & the rain will fall, snow, maybe, in the sierra. Doesn’t matter ‘cuz we know that Spring is coming for real... & the long hot summer after. “In the summertime, when all the trees, the leaves are green........” R. Miller
Justin Other Smith
Friday, February 15, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Semper Fi, Marines......
I don’t mind Berkeley city council being against the war in Iraq. As individuals, they have a right to speak their mind whatever their state of mind might be.....As individuals, they are protected by the First Amendment. However, as representatives of a taxpaying population, they have a responsibility beyond their individual rights which they have woefully abused and they should be recalled. I’m not gonna hold my breath ‘til that happens.
But as a suggestion to that council & the code pink people, p’haps they could hold their collective breaths until they turn blue. Kicking & screaming & stamping their feet are time-proven tactics also.
If anyone cares, I think the war in Iraq was a mistake & shouldn’t have happened....I also think it was mishandled after the fall of Saddam but I didn’t have any input in that either. HOWEVER, since we’re there, since we’re committed, we should support our troops who have given so much. It’s okay to protest the war. That’s an American right. The city council of Berkeley & the code pink people have gone too far in stepping on the rights of people who are risking their lives in defense of those rights.
From the halls of Montezuma to the streets of Berkeley, Semper Fi, Marines....Justin Other Smith
But as a suggestion to that council & the code pink people, p’haps they could hold their collective breaths until they turn blue. Kicking & screaming & stamping their feet are time-proven tactics also.
If anyone cares, I think the war in Iraq was a mistake & shouldn’t have happened....I also think it was mishandled after the fall of Saddam but I didn’t have any input in that either. HOWEVER, since we’re there, since we’re committed, we should support our troops who have given so much. It’s okay to protest the war. That’s an American right. The city council of Berkeley & the code pink people have gone too far in stepping on the rights of people who are risking their lives in defense of those rights.
From the halls of Montezuma to the streets of Berkeley, Semper Fi, Marines....Justin Other Smith
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
101 spotty l'il blogs........
So, I did it. I’ve been saying I would & I did. I went to the gym. Well, what the heck, it’s a beginning & that’s what counts, ain’t it? ...got there ‘round about 8:00 am.....did a few lite weights, 10 mins on treadmill & broke a sweat.....hit the steam, showered & wuz on the road home by 9:30.....nuthin’ if not efficient...... sort’a like that old line.....it’s been real & it’s been fun, but it’s not been real fun......I know, I’m stretching........but, what the 'hay....this is the hundred & first of these meandering trips & now I don't even have the excuse of chemo brain....
It’s just that it feels funny, y’know...getting back to doing normal stuff. And not having cancer & chemo to talk about kind’a leaves a hole. A lull in the conversation. So, I guess I’m having a lull. There are worse things in life than the occasional lull. Everyone needs a lull now & then, time to look around, take stock of yourself, see what lies over the next hill......
Had my coffee & morning paper at Kellye’s this morn...got the gurlz off to school...after they all rubbed my bald pate for luck.....I hope it works for ‘em.....& I hope you enjoy my lull..........Justin Other Smith
It’s just that it feels funny, y’know...getting back to doing normal stuff. And not having cancer & chemo to talk about kind’a leaves a hole. A lull in the conversation. So, I guess I’m having a lull. There are worse things in life than the occasional lull. Everyone needs a lull now & then, time to look around, take stock of yourself, see what lies over the next hill......
Had my coffee & morning paper at Kellye’s this morn...got the gurlz off to school...after they all rubbed my bald pate for luck.....I hope it works for ‘em.....& I hope you enjoy my lull..........Justin Other Smith
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
A rare day..........
This is the century note for this blog.....a whole hunnerd of 'em.......
Tennyson wrote, “and what is so rare as a day in June...”
Well,......a sunny day in February is purty darn nice.... temps approaching 70o...window down on the car, sunroof open...... s’Tuesday afternoon & the feral fowl of Fair Oaks are making a nuisance of themselves.....& so are the d### turistas who ooh & ahh while feeding them...... Gah!!!!!........ I must be feeling a lot better since I am carping about the chickens again......& another thing.... we’ve been getting mail from a group calling themselves ‘The Village Enhancement Buttinski’s’..... what the world definitely doesn’t need is another group of fascist do-gooders who want to fix somebody else’s problems...or what they view as problems.....of course, what I view as a problem is anyone who wants to tell me what to do and when to do it.....and Yeah, I know I have authority issues.. I’m 70 years old & I’ve had authority issues for most of those years......
On a more pleasant note......I wuz goin’ to the gym t’day...
packed my bag & put on m’sweats only to find Millyrose asleep on the sofa...Now, she’d sed that she wuz goin’ with me ‘n I certainly knew better than to leave w/out her.....being unable to wake her, I sat myself down & waited.....& waited.......no biggie, I’ll go tomorrow.......
I hope ever’one had a pleasant day....Justin Other Smith
Tennyson wrote, “and what is so rare as a day in June...”
Well,......a sunny day in February is purty darn nice.... temps approaching 70o...window down on the car, sunroof open...... s’Tuesday afternoon & the feral fowl of Fair Oaks are making a nuisance of themselves.....& so are the d### turistas who ooh & ahh while feeding them...... Gah!!!!!........ I must be feeling a lot better since I am carping about the chickens again......& another thing.... we’ve been getting mail from a group calling themselves ‘The Village Enhancement Buttinski’s’..... what the world definitely doesn’t need is another group of fascist do-gooders who want to fix somebody else’s problems...or what they view as problems.....of course, what I view as a problem is anyone who wants to tell me what to do and when to do it.....and Yeah, I know I have authority issues.. I’m 70 years old & I’ve had authority issues for most of those years......
On a more pleasant note......I wuz goin’ to the gym t’day...
packed my bag & put on m’sweats only to find Millyrose asleep on the sofa...Now, she’d sed that she wuz goin’ with me ‘n I certainly knew better than to leave w/out her.....being unable to wake her, I sat myself down & waited.....& waited.......no biggie, I’ll go tomorrow.......
I hope ever’one had a pleasant day....Justin Other Smith
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Blue marbles & stuff........
Saturday, February 9......Just hangin' out waitin' for hair & whatever........
This world, this little old blue marble spinning in the vastness of space, this speck in the universe, this world. Our world. As someone of note once remarked, the world is always with us.
And has been since our beginning. It’s such a part of us that, like breathing, we mostly don’t take any notice of it. It’s so integraged into our being, is such a part of our essence that it’s almost inconceivable that one could exist without the other. But, on the proverbial other hand, I’m pretty sure that if we humans were to become extinct tomorrow, the world, this ‘blue marble’ of ours, would continue spinning. The seasons would continue to pass and the world would go on without us.
I’m pretty sure that our passing would create a void and if, as t’is said, nature abhors a vacuum, something would replace us. I cannot predict what that might be. Perhaps as the elephant replaced the mastodon, our replacement might be a variation of ourselves, as we may very well be an evolutionary substitute for whatever humanoids preceded us.
And let me point out that this has absolutely nothing to do with the theories of evolution or creation. Those
are simply words created by us in our egotistical attempt to define and understand ourselves and since our language will disappear with our extinction, of little import to the world.
Abe Lincoln began his speech at Gettysburg with the words, “The world will little note nor long remember”.......Our history, what we know of it, goes back only a few thousands of years. Our best guesses as to what preceded us can be likened to the blind men describing an elephant.
John Godfrey Saxe's ( 1816-1887) version of the famous Indian legend,
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
The First approach'd the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"
The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he,
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"
The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
MORAL.
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
And so forth and so on ad infinitum, ad nauseum....
Justin Other Smith
This world, this little old blue marble spinning in the vastness of space, this speck in the universe, this world. Our world. As someone of note once remarked, the world is always with us.
And has been since our beginning. It’s such a part of us that, like breathing, we mostly don’t take any notice of it. It’s so integraged into our being, is such a part of our essence that it’s almost inconceivable that one could exist without the other. But, on the proverbial other hand, I’m pretty sure that if we humans were to become extinct tomorrow, the world, this ‘blue marble’ of ours, would continue spinning. The seasons would continue to pass and the world would go on without us.
I’m pretty sure that our passing would create a void and if, as t’is said, nature abhors a vacuum, something would replace us. I cannot predict what that might be. Perhaps as the elephant replaced the mastodon, our replacement might be a variation of ourselves, as we may very well be an evolutionary substitute for whatever humanoids preceded us.
And let me point out that this has absolutely nothing to do with the theories of evolution or creation. Those
are simply words created by us in our egotistical attempt to define and understand ourselves and since our language will disappear with our extinction, of little import to the world.
Abe Lincoln began his speech at Gettysburg with the words, “The world will little note nor long remember”.......Our history, what we know of it, goes back only a few thousands of years. Our best guesses as to what preceded us can be likened to the blind men describing an elephant.
John Godfrey Saxe's ( 1816-1887) version of the famous Indian legend,
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
The First approach'd the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"
The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he,
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"
The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
MORAL.
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
And so forth and so on ad infinitum, ad nauseum....
Justin Other Smith
Thursday, February 7, 2008
and the beat goes on .........
Fair Oaks....February 7.......
And the beat goes on, the beat goes on ............
Just a short post 'cause it's a good news day ......saw the C-Doc this afternoon......sez my latest CT scan shows me cancer free......sez I don’t need to come for another scan until June.....I was spozed to get a scan every 2 months w/progression to 4 months so starting out at 4 month intervals is goooood!.......
I plan to spend the next few days walking the dogs & hopefully get back to the gym early next week...& if the weather continues to improve, back to the pool......
I want to thank everyone for all their prayers & good wishes.....as much as I like words, I just can’t find enuff to express my gratitude..........Justin Other Smith
And the beat goes on, the beat goes on ............
Just a short post 'cause it's a good news day ......saw the C-Doc this afternoon......sez my latest CT scan shows me cancer free......sez I don’t need to come for another scan until June.....I was spozed to get a scan every 2 months w/progression to 4 months so starting out at 4 month intervals is goooood!.......
I plan to spend the next few days walking the dogs & hopefully get back to the gym early next week...& if the weather continues to improve, back to the pool......
I want to thank everyone for all their prayers & good wishes.....as much as I like words, I just can’t find enuff to express my gratitude..........Justin Other Smith
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
SOOPER NUTZ.........
Wednesday, February 6, the day after sooper 2’s day.....
The Republican triumphirate, the three’s company road show making their way thru the hinterlands of the land of the red & blue as the pithy pundits pay it fwd just in case........just in case what you may ask........Well, the Clinton/Obama mutual admiration society might stall, might disintegrate, no pun intended.....seems t’be a hole new game what with the gender card & the race card....
making it up as they go and nobody knows what trumps what......I think NBC had chosen Clinton to be our new Prez but then in midstream, they seemed to switch horses & suddenly Obama was to be coronated.....now it appears to be a toss-up & Brian & Tim are confused.....
As indeed it appears we all are confused...who will we vote for if Brian & Tim don’t tell us????.......& whattaya make of Ann Coulter coming out of the closet for Hillary?........Maybe Rush will get behind Obama.........who’ll think for the poor Conservatives then?
On the proverbial other hand, the sun is peeking thru the clouds, the temp is spozed to get up to 60 & almost every one I know has way too much on their plates to pay a whole lot of attention to the dog & pony show that has dominated television lately.....I guess we c’ud blame it all on the writers strike......Justin Other Smith
The Republican triumphirate, the three’s company road show making their way thru the hinterlands of the land of the red & blue as the pithy pundits pay it fwd just in case........just in case what you may ask........Well, the Clinton/Obama mutual admiration society might stall, might disintegrate, no pun intended.....seems t’be a hole new game what with the gender card & the race card....
making it up as they go and nobody knows what trumps what......I think NBC had chosen Clinton to be our new Prez but then in midstream, they seemed to switch horses & suddenly Obama was to be coronated.....now it appears to be a toss-up & Brian & Tim are confused.....
As indeed it appears we all are confused...who will we vote for if Brian & Tim don’t tell us????.......& whattaya make of Ann Coulter coming out of the closet for Hillary?........Maybe Rush will get behind Obama.........who’ll think for the poor Conservatives then?
On the proverbial other hand, the sun is peeking thru the clouds, the temp is spozed to get up to 60 & almost every one I know has way too much on their plates to pay a whole lot of attention to the dog & pony show that has dominated television lately.....I guess we c’ud blame it all on the writers strike......Justin Other Smith
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