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Reasons to be cheerful!

Started by Tank, June 26, 2010, 03:13:35 PM

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Magdalena

Quote from: billy rubin on March 12, 2022, 11:02:13 PM
that little section of road is only about 1000 feet long, but it keeps people from wanting to live out here. its a steep west-facing slope and the wind blows the snow right to the top. when the snow is 3 inches deep in front of my house, its 9 inches deep up there. when the snow at the house is a foot, up there its three . . .

at the house it was no worse than this



got to admit i dont like the cold either, but spring is in ten days
I would be counting the days of the season if I lived there too.  ;D

"I've had several "spiritual" or numinous experiences over the years, but never felt that they were the product of anything but the workings of my own mind in reaction to the universe." ~Recusant

billy rubin

yes


for many years i have lived my life according to the seasons. in ten days the frst day of spring marks the vernal equinox, when the sun sets directly behind my neighbors barn on the ridge two miles to the west. one day before or after is an entire barn width, north or south.

the sun comes up equally exactly on the ridge to the east, but there isnt a tree or a barn on the horizon for me to mark the day. the winter and summer solstices have the sun going down and coming up out of my view in the woods, so i cant see what i know is happening.

in the night sky now orion is still high in the south, the constellation of winter for me for almost fifty years now. harder to see because of the lightening of the night sky over the last twenty years, but i know where to look.

when i was a child living near the equator the difference in sunset between summer and winter was no more than 15 minutes. here at 41 degrees north it amounts to hours.

the animals pay attention too. i count baby rabbits on the road leading to home from the highway every year. the peak of uneaten baby rabbits on the road is generally at the summer solstice. some years i have as many as 10 baby rabbits sitting inthe road onthe three miles between the pavement and my house on the first day of summer, other years fewer. but the solstice is the peak.

so i count the lengthening days to spring, and also the days i have left before summer, whenthe days tip over the peak and become slower.

i try to stay in denial onthe autumnal equinox. the birds disappear, the insectivores first, hummingbirds and flycatchers, then the wasps and butterflies (what is left of them) diminish and the bees wind down.

then the snows come and we hunker down until the days lengthen again




"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

billy rubin

sunrise

the phone rings

the daughter is stuck again

"i just wanted to come home . . . "


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

Icarus

Quote from: billy rubin on March 13, 2022, 03:12:15 AM
yes


for many years i have lived my life according to the seasons. in ten days the frst day of spring marks the vernal equinox, when the sun sets directly behind my neighbors barn on the ridge two miles to the west. one day before or after is an entire barn width, north or south.

the sun comes up equally exactly on the ridge to the east, but there isnt a tree or a barn on the horizon for me to mark the day. the winter and summer solstices have the sun going down and coming up out of my view in the woods, so i cant see what i know is happening.

in the night sky now orion is still high in the south, the constellation of winter for me for almost fifty years now. harder to see because of the lightening of the night sky over the last twenty years, but i know where to look.

when i was a child living near the equator the difference in sunset between summer and winter was no more than 15 minutes. here at 41 degrees north it amounts to hours.

the animals pay attention too. i count baby rabbits on the road leading to home from the highway every year. the peak of uneaten baby rabbits on the road is generally at the summer solstice. some years i have as many as 10 baby rabbits sitting inthe road onthe three miles between the pavement and my house on the first day of summer, other years fewer. but the solstice is the peak.

so i count the lengthening days to spring, and also the days i have left before summer, whenthe days tip over the peak and become slower.

i try to stay in denial ont he autumnal equinox. the birds disappear, the insectivores first, hummingbirds and flycatchers, then the wasps and butterflies (what is left of them) diminish and the bees wind down.

then the snows come and we hunker down until the days lengthen again

Billy is waxing eloquently.  I appreciate and respect his observations and point of view.

billy rubin



"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

Icarus

Keep doing what you are doing Billy.  Your contributions and philosophic renderings have some value.

An obviously well educated, broadly experienced, man who chooses to live off the grid, is surely worth his space here at HAF.

hermes2015

Quote from: Icarus on March 15, 2022, 01:50:26 AM
Keep doing what you are doing Billy.  Your contributions and philosophic renderings have some value.

An obviously well educated, broadly experienced, man who chooses to live off the grid, is surely worth his space here at HAF.

:clapping:
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

billy rubin

#4837
i dont live off the grid. my lovely wife is currently lying on the couch holding the extension cord into the wall so that i can type this

but the electricity here was primitive when we moved in. 60-amp service and old 1900s-pot-soldered connections and rubber covered wire. i repurposed the electric stove circuit and installed switchable junction boxes on it to power the kitchen and well pump. but the entire downstairs is still run on one 15-amp circuit. no switch loops on the ceiling lights-- it was still bare bulbs hanging down the cord with a pull chain to switch them. the entire upstairs had only a single light bulb for each room, no power sockets.

on top of that, th eplace had been messed with by someone with a death wish. there were bare copper grounding conductors hooked to live circuitry and burn marks in the upstairs where the overloaded electric heaters had caught fire. the well pump had been wired by trial and error so that it pumped water but was waiting to catch fire itself. there was no bathroom, just a cold water shower head inthe cellar.

did i mention the dead rabbit in the well?

in the winter we abandon the upstairs and live in the living room instead. this was a US$50 per month rental when we bough t it and it would be cheaper to burn it down than to try to upgrade it.

but its spring now so things are looking up for a while.


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

Ecurb Noselrub



My oldest granddaughter, Taylor, graduated from nursing school yesterday, with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. 4 years of very hard work. This makes me cheerful, and PROUD!

Dark Lightning

Good for her! She has plenty of career opportunities ahead!

billy rubin

damn

catchin up.

very late but well deserved congratulations to her.


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

Anne D.

Congratulations, EN! That's wonderful for your granddaughter and for the country. We need more nurses.

hermes2015

Mazel tov! She looks bright and should do well in her career.
"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

Tank

If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Ecurb Noselrub

Just finished a two week jury trial in Bryan, Texas (near where Texas A&M is located). We were defending a doctor and hospital in our system against a medical malpractice claim. The jury came back in our favor, and found no negligence or other violation of law against our clients. It was the right verdict in this case. I am very happy, and just bought drinks all around for those present in the hotel bar!!