Snippets

One of the standard tests of culture is being able to listen to the William Tell Overture and not think of th Lone Ranger. The local classical station has been advertising a production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville. Naturally, my thoughts go to Bugs Bunny or Alfalfa from The Little Rascals.

The folks in the back room at the National Weather Service get to wax poetic every once in a while. Remarking on the diminished strength of Tropical Storm Vince, they wrote, "As the short happy life of Vince is now over...this will be the last advisory."

Now that the two-month lockout at the CBC has ended, we can keep up with the news about our northern brethren who are trying to gather the potato harvest in the rain.

There's been some good reaction in the tech press to IBM's announcement that it will donate a portion of the Rational Unified Process to the open source Eclipse Foundation.

Apple didn't release an 80GB iPod, as had been rumored, opting for a video iPod instead. Dunno. Maybe there's a market for it, but not with me.

Belief in God may be the result of evolution.

Treating depression in the workplace may make good business sense.

And the rains came

When I left the camp on Sunday, I did what they tell you not to do - drive on a road that's covered with water. A stream had overflowed, covering the road with a half foot of water. It's the first time that I've seen flooding on this stream. This flooding was mild compared to what hit southern New Hampshire, which, in turn, was a flicker compared to Guatemala. And, through it all, the ground stayed firm and steady, unlike Kashmir.

Fortunately, I brought in a supply of wood last week, so we have plenty of dry stuff for the stove. Wood prices are up about 30% this year. Last week I placed an order for green wood that will be dry by late spring if we need it.

It's been said that folks in Boston are not baseball fans; they're Red Sox fans. They're not football fans; they're Patriots fans. And so on. With the Yankees dispatched, I doubt that there will be much interest in the White Sox-Angels series. Maybe this is the year for the White Sox; they're certainly due.

I settled in and got some good work done yesterday, finishing off a tools assignment from my previous job and starting on plans for the upcoming release. The new project cycles between "This is manageable." to "The wheels are coming off and we have three more hills to climb." It's now on the manageable side of the cycle. It was raining mid-day, so Sandra and I walked indoors. Going to all sections of the building, we covered about a mile. Sandra and I sit two aisles apart.

Reports have it that Apple will announce new iPods this week, including a top-of-the-line 80GB beast.

I don't need to look for a job, but I've kept my automated searches running just to see what's out there. So, in my automated search for a technical documentation position, I received a lead on a position as Directory, Stewardship and Foundations for Focus on the Family.

In the late color

A low fog tumbles across the lake, the cold wind skimming over the (relatively) warmer water. You wouldn’t know that the water is warmer by standing it, however. I had some work to do on the boat and was in and out of the water for a half hour or so. Now I’m sitting next to the wood stove, warming and drying.

The rain has let up for a while now. During the night, the wind shifted to the northwest and bringing buckets of rain until early morning. Columbus Day weekend is usually the peak for foliage viewing, but not this year. The color is late and what color we have is dull.

Sandra and Marley are driving back from PEI and will be home this afternoon. It’s a long drive to make in a weekend. The connection to her parents and to the Island is important.

For many people, tomorrow is a holiday, Columbus Day in the States, Thanksgiving in Canada. We’re working, but many people will take the day off because the kids are out of school. Last week, when I was in White Plains, there were many kids around the office. Some schools in the New York area close during Rosh Hashanah.  

After I close up the camp this morning, I’ll go to my father’s house. He left his cane here when he came by here yesterday for coffee. A couple of weeks ago, he slipped while going up the cellar stair at his house. He bumped his shoulder in just the right way and chipped his collarbone. Generally, he’s been doing pretty well these past few months. This latest bump has meant that he hasn’t been able to get the mower deck off his tractor so he can work on the steering. It’s also nearing the time when he will have to get the Jeep ready for winter.

As I go into the third week of my new job, I am enjoying the people but am anxious about the amount of work. I’ve had difficulty concentrating while reading. I have a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday and will talk about it more then. I don’t know if the difficulties are the result of the meds or the condition that the meds are trying to treat. I’ll be in the local office all of this week and then back to White Plains for the next.