"I'm an optimistic people"

President Bush and Prime Minister Olmert Participate in Joint Press Availability: I'm an optimistic people -- people say, do you think it's possible during your presidency, and the answer is, I'm very hopeful and will work hard to that end.

Finding our way back to winter

When I let Marley out the back door so that he could chase the squirrel at the bird feeder, he made a quick left turn and hit the black ice on the deck. His body went forward, but all four feet went sideways. By the time he regained traction, the squirrel was mocking him from a tree far away.

Half of our yard is snow-free. The other half, sheltered from the sun, has, at most, four or five inches of wet-pack snow. We had thunderstorms with downpours yesterday, but the temperature stayed in the 30s, so there wasn't much more melting. We're closer to normal temperatures now. The forecast indicates that we might have a good-sized storm starting tomorrow night and through the day on Monday.

Happy Birthday, Krista.

On the recurring battle against stuff

Most of us have heard George Carlin's riff on stuff. In brief, we spend a lot of our energy on our stuff, carrying it with us, finding places to keep, wondering where our stuff is.

Having cleaned out my father's house in the past year, we've come to appreciate how important it is to keep important stuff and how difficult it is to get rid of the stuff that isn't important. Thoreau wrote of the good men of Concord, pushing their barns in front of them:

How many a poor immortal soul have I met well-nigh crushed and smothered under its load, creeping down the road of life, pushing before it a barn seventy-five feet by forty, its Augean stables (8) never cleansed, and one hundred acres of land, tillage, mowing, pasture, and woodlot!

So, while some folks try to show us how to hang your books from the rafters, we're trying to find ways to trim the amount of stuff that wanders into the house and stays, thanks to Newton's first law. We've cleaned off one bookshelf in our study, sending a couple of boxes of books to the town library's used book sale and planning to sell a few on Amazon. I've decided that I can get by with six portable radios (three of them short-wave) and so will donate the extras to next summer's Phillipston flea market.

Thoreau also wrote of the Mucclasse Indians who, when the new harvest comes and when they have acquired new pots, pans, clothes, and furniture, would burn their old stuff, cleansing and simplifying.

Update: "Selfish capitalism is bad for your mental health."

Computer operators going the way of telephone operators?

In the early 20th century, the exponential growth of the telephone system caused some to estimate that, by mid-century, half of the people in the country would be working as telephone operators. Automation, of course, stepped in. Fewer operators were needed to support many, many more customers.

So, too, it seems to be happening in the computing world. In the early 90s, we started hearing the term "lights-out computing," referring to a computer room that pretty much ran itself, requiring no lights because there were no people in the room. That trend is continuing, such that, within a decade, there won't be a computer room, at least not one inside the business. It used to be that many business had to generate their own electricity. As the overall electrical grid system improved in capacity and reliability, businesses found it simpler, cheaper, and better to rely on a utility rather than manage their own. In time, we'll buy computing cycles in the way that we buy electrical and phone service.

The reading cure | Review | Guardian Unlimited Books

My mother was a practicing bibliotherapist: "The right book to the right person at the right time." It's good to see that the world still recognizes the healing powers of books.

The reading cure | Review | Guardian Unlimited Books

It's a good thing we didn't read this article earlier

We've received a nice offer on my father's house and expect to close the sale at the end of the month. The buyers are a family relocating from Ohio.

This is the house where I grew up. Mike and his crew renovated the place this past spring and summer, so the place looks great. I believe that the new owners will like the house and like the town.

8 reasons why your house is unsellable - TODAY 101 - MSNBC.com

It's not often when Google is overcome by reality.

Yesterday, Sandra, Joe, and I went in to Boston to see Blue Man Group, a belated 13th birthday gift for Joe. Sandra and I have seen the show four or five times and it's still great, still capable of surprising us, making us laugh with their plain, blue faces. And that strange sound that I heard, well, that was the sound of my laughter, something I haven't heard much or often in a while.

It isn't often that Google lets you down twice. I searched for a place for lunch before the show and dessert afterwards. Google Maps reported that Fuddrucker's was at the end of the block and Anna Dessert Shop was a few blocks away. Neither place was in business. We had a good brunch at Rock Bottom Brewery, where Fuddrucker's was supposed to be and good desserts at a Chinese bakery on Harrison Avenue.

Let's defeat the terrorists and go shopping

Since I'm no longer working, I thought it would be a good idea to look through the coupons in the Sunday paper to see if we might be able to save a few bucks on our groceries. And, after doing so, I hoped that I could write a wry and witty commentary about the state of America's retail marketing lunacy. I found myself unable to meet the challenge of an ad for Palmolive Scrub Buster^TM dish-washing liquid.
The ad in the newspaper points to a web site where I can find out how Doris Roberts (Raymond's mother on Everybody Loves Raymond) uses Palmolive products in her kitchen. Not only that, but you can have Doris call a (soon-to-be former) friend with house-keeping tips.

The other coupon inserts included gems such as the ubiquitous Smucker's Uncrustables (pre-made sandwiches without crusts) and $3.00 off of alarm clocks, headphones, and TV remote control handsets from our local pharmacy. Oh, and the hour-glass yogurt containers to make you think that you'll get thin if you eat their yogurt. And lots of different types of scented candles and air fresheners that you'll need after eating all of those high-fiber granola bars.