Musings, Commentaries, Photos and Reviews

The US Navy launched a MODIFIED missle from the USS Lake Erie to destroy a defective spy satellite that was going to fall from orbit on March 6th 2008. The rationale for this action was presumably to protect the public from any danger (a large tank of toxic Hydrazine ). I'm glad to see that our defense department is protecting us but I have been "musing" over this story. The missle used was modified to reach the higher altitude of the satellite. Although we did tell the Chinese about the test, I think this is a not-so-subtle way to demonstrate to the world that we can knock out satellites if we want to. We squawked a bit when the Chinese shot down one of their satellites so I guess we had to prove we still have the "right stuff". I'm guessing our GPS satellites are being targeted. I'm glad we have the same (or a superior) level of technology as our potential adversaries, but I really do not want to see an arms race for the "High Frontier" . We

In the 5th episode of Seinfeld in the 9th season, Kramer tries to stop the flow of junk mail. He is especially incensed at all the "Pottery Barn" catalogs. Eventually he goes too far and ends up being threatened by Wilfred Brimley playing the Postmaster General. I'm amazed at the number of catalogs, credit card offers and yes"Pottery Barn" catalogs and their ilk that we receive weekly. We neither read or order from these, we simply cart them off to the dump for recycling. Presumably they are shredded, processed and reprinted with more exciting "offers". This useless paper cycle cannot be good for the environment. I cannot imagine how much fuel is consumed delivering this stuff and carting it away for reprocessing. I read that the average family gets approximately 41 pounds a year. I'm taking some concrete measures to stop this nonsense. Our local paper had a number of web sites devoted to ways to opt out and get off the grid. One surprise was that

Finally a break in the winter cycle of ice and snow then snow and ice and cold. The temperature broke 50 degrees here in New Hampshire with a light drizzle. The combination of warm humid air and a snow cover has produced pockets of dense fog. I was out on a rare shopping excursion and was amazed at the number of cars and trucks that are driving around without turning their headlights on. They are absolutely invisible. A number of these vehicles are "fog colored".. muted grays and white. Many states have a "wipers on, headlights on" law. New Hampshire with it's motto of "Live Free or Die" does not have this law. I love this state but sometimes the motto seems to be "Live Free AND Die". Isn't it common sense to make your vehicle as visible as possible to prevent other's from running into you? I am going to label this post as "Common Sense" because part of my role as an elder is to dispense wisdom. "Common Sense" is a

I believe that this is an epiphyllum. I don't know because this plant has no history. A friend was closing a greenhouse and realizing that I have an affinity for plants, she offered the ones that had been left for on their own for some time. I was happy to take the older desert cactus which were in wonderful shape but I noticed several sunburnt and neglected "orchid cactus". I believe these are plants native to central america and although they are cactus, they do not thrive under full sunshine and little water. They are large ungainly plants and although I really don't have the room I didn't want to see them discarded. I put them in our cold and uninviting basement under fluorescent lights and much to my surprise I was greeted with a flower display in time for Valentine's day. ... See my Tabblo>

I attended a nice party of a former co-worker last saturday. The party was located about an hour and half from home. I brought along my reading glasses in case in needed to read anything. I always bring along to be prepared. It was a wise decision because the hostess had hired a piano player and we had a sing along. All the time I made a conscious effort to NOT put the glasses down on a table or counter with the full realization that I would leave without them (are glasses plural or singular?). Early this morning back at home I have no idea where they are. An isolated incident? NOPE! I 'm always losing track of car keys, my wallet and all the accouterments of modern life. I follow routines, try to put items in the same place so I can find them. It is hopeless. I have bought so many tape measures because I can't find the 3 I already own. I only can find phillips head screwdrives when I have a slotted screw and vice-versa. I think I'm a bit mad. Thankfully my sister had spent

Is John McCain a conservative? I think he is and in a good way. I should know, I'm a bleeding heart liberal who is a tree hugger who thinks government can help people. With all the noise from the "pundits" on the TV political shows the term "conservative" has been bandied about by everyone including McCain himself. I felt the definition of a conservative as one who espouses personal responsibility and government policies that promote moral behavior seemed to fit my own idea of what their philosophy encompasses. There is also a strong feeling that government should stay out of the way. All the Republican candidates talked so much about Reagan that I expected him to be channeled right into the debates. Funny they didn't mention the "compassionate conservative" George W Bush. I wonder why? I would define Conservatism as "maintaining the current order." I don't draw a distinction between this political definition and my tree hugging sen

I've been "musing" about this for some time. I'm upset that we are only going to get 8 episodes of "Lost" this season due to the writer's strike. Anyone who is addicted to this series as our family is knows that it filled with unanswered questions. In the second episode of the fourth season, a skeleton of a polar bear is discovered in the Tunisian desert. Okay, this is fairly common for this show. A collar is discovered nearby with a symbol of one of the Dharma Initiative Stations. I thought it was a palm tree, my daughter thought it was "The Flame Station". Thankfully we have the internet with it's myriad of resources (people with lots of time on their hands). I found this nice write up on Wikipedia. It doesn't explain much but we still have 5 episodes to go... sigh Station ?: The Hydra The Hydra is a zoological research station located on another island which is about twice the size of Alcatraz Island , two miles off the island the s