Skeptical Epicurean Pragmatist

Thanks to an anonymous someone I see that I haven't posted here for a while.

I guess there really hasn't been anything post-worthy in my mind. Pretty much been the same ol' same ol'. I know I really need to make more of an effort to put something here regularly. I'm not sure why, I am probably my only reader! LOL Ok, ok, except for a particular niece. ;o) My life is pretty boring overall. Working second shift can be that way. You have no social life other than the computer.

I will say that I have met some very cool people from all around the world, though. I am amazed at the fact that nearly every person on the internet has some command of the English language. It makes me feel like a Dumb American! LOL I know a couple words of Spanish and French, but that's it! I could no more carry on a conversation in either language than I could sprout wings and fly.

It's pretty embarrassing. Especially considering I had 6 years of French in grade school and 2 years of Spanish in Junior High! I don't know, maybe if I was plunged into one or the other culture some rusty wheels would creak to life and begin turning; helping me acclimatize quickly.

What's even worse is half the time I have to look up the person's location! One woman I talk to is in Singapore. Do YOU know what country it's in? I didn't. I assumed China or Thailand but, no, it's in Malaysia. It really makes me aware of and more cautious in my conversations. I sure don't want to be the reason someone from another culture thinks the US population is self-centered/disrespectful/uninformed/illiterate/uncaring/etc. take your pick.

Ok, well, that's a bit more than I thought I could come up with. Go me. Maybe this isn't so tough.



On a different note:

My previous EE Story was effort enough to receive my participation coin for Book 2 of Eldritch Errors. Said coin has not yet arrived. We are in the midst of Book 3 and had to stand by on the ritual day (Feb. 20th, lunar eclipse) and hope to hell nothing bad happened. We are still waiting to hear what went down. Here's a link if you are interested:

http://www.sentryoutpost.com/forums/index.php

We can use all the help we can get to figure out what is going on.

 She stepped out into the night and her nostrils were assailed by the odor of green. The green of lawn clippings, bruised and bleeding, piled into a sodden heap. The green of vines and tendrils and moss with rain falling down in sheets and cascades grasping wetly. Cloying, nauseating, thick and heavy green. She gagged as it seeped into her mouth and throat and nose trying desperately not to cough as it invaded her lungs. Suffocating, she had to run, to move to find a place safe from the nightmare. Safe from the darkness.

She stumbled through the green miasma. Struggling for air, just a gasp, something fresh. The thick heavy air settled on her like a blanket. Weighing on her chest. The drawing of a simple breath was an effort. She continued moving through surroundings, swampy and slogging.

Feeling the solid form of a tree beneath her hand she collapsed against it, holding on. The drawing in of air became a very slight bit easier. Her forehead ground against the rough damp bark. A drop of moisture hit the back of her neck. Warm, oozing slowly down to her shirt only to be rejected by the material which held too much moisture already. Sweat and damply soaking humidity combined to plaster the clothing to her body.

She became aware of her heartbeat
thub-DUB thub-DUB thub-DUB
thub-DUB thub-DUB thub-DUB

Her breathing slowed in time
inhale thub-DUB thub-DUB thub-DUB
exhale thub-DUB thub-DUB thub-DUB

Another drop fell from the wet crown of leaves
inhale thub-DUB spat thub-DUB thub-DUB
exhale thub-DUB thub-DUB thub-DUB

Her mind began struggling.  When had it happened? she thought.
inhale thub-DUB spat thub-DUB thub-DUB
exhale thub-DUB thub-DUB thub-DUB

The chaos the shrieking the flames and howling.
inhale thub-DUB spat thub-DUB thub-DUB
exhale thub-DUB thub-DUB thub-DUB

What did I do? she begged of the universe at large.
inhale thub-DUB spat thub-DUB spat thub-DUB
exhale thub-DUB thub-DUB thub-DUB

Knowing she had lost...what?  What was it she sought?
inhale thub-DUB  spat thub-DUB thub-DUB
exhale thub-DUB thub-DUB tic thub-DUB

The hoplessness and helplessness and the blood!  Oh god the BLOOD!
inhale thub-DUB spat thub-DUB tic thub-DUB
exhale thub-DUB thub-DUB tic thub-DUB

Everyone looking to her for reasons.  For explanations.  For salvation.
inhale thub-DUB spat thub-DUB tic thub-DUB
exhale thub-DUB tic thub-DUB thub-DUB tic

Her tears flowed faster.
inhale thub-DUB spat thub-DUB tic thub-DUB tic
exhale thub-DUB tic thub-DUB tic thub-DUB

How was she supposed to help when she didn't know herself what was happening.
inhale thub-DUB spat tic thub-DUB tic thub-DUB
exhale thub-DUB tic thub-DUB tic spat thub-DUB

Her shoulders tensed with the effort not to cry out loud.
inhale tic thub-DUB spat tic thub-DUB tic thub-DUB pum
exhale thub-DUB tic thub-DUB pum thub-DUB

LISTEN!! her mind screamed silently.
inhale tic thub-DUB spat  tic thub-DUB tic thub-DUB tic pum
exhale tic thub-DUB pum thub-DUB tic thub-DUB

Suddenly she became aware of the new rythm.
inhale thub-DUB pum spat thub-DUB tic thub-DUB pum
exhale thub-DUB tic thub-DUB pum thub-DUB tic
inhale thub-DUB pum spat thub-DUB tic thub-DUB pum
exhale thub-DUB tic thub-DUB pum thub-DUB tic

"Noooooo" she softly whined her eyes opening wide.
inhale thub-DUB pum spat thub-DUB tic exhale thub-DUB pum
sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka 
thub-DUB tic inhale thub-DUB pum thub-DUB tic
sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka 

Not the drums!  No!  Please not the drums!!
exhale thub-DUB pum spat thub-DUB tic inhale thub-DUB pum
sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka 
exhale thub-DUB tic thub-DUB pum inhale thub-DUB tic
sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka 

Sobbing she begged "no no no please." It was just as in her dreams.
exhale thub-DUB pum spat inhale thub-DUB tic exhale thub-DUB pum
sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka 
aaaaaaaaOOOOOOOOOaaaaaaaaaaaaaaEEEEEEE
inhale thub-DUB tic exhale thub-DUB pum inhale thub-DUB tic
sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka 
aaaaaaaaOOOOOOOOOaaaaaaaaaaaaaaEEEEEEE

She collapsed on the ground shoulders heaving sobs choking her throat. The chanting.  Just like in her dreams.  The incessant chanting.
pant thub-DUB pum gasp spat thub-DUB tic pant thub-DUB pum
sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka 
aaaaaaaaOOOOOOOOOaaaaaaaaaaaaaaEEEEEEE
booma booma booma booma
gulp thub-DUB tic pant thub-DUB pum gulp thub-DUB tic
sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka sh ka 
aaaaaaaaOOOOOOOOOaaaaaaaaaaaaaaEEEEEEE
booma booma booma booma

Well I signed up for this writing thing where you have to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. Got in on it a little late, but figure I'll give it a try. I have several writings in the works and have been neglecting them. I think, once I get the story in my head and figure out how it ends, I don't want to be bothered with writing it down. So, now I am going to wrack my brain to come up with a brand new idea.

The idea here is to just write. To get in the practice of writing something, anything, every day. I've never been good at journaling or anything like that. However, with the advent of computers and nifty sites like this one writing becomes less of a pain. Taking pen to actual paper and writing longhand is much more cumbersome than speed typing!

So I am off to just start typing. Hopefully, the act will result in something that goes somewhere. Wish me luck!

I am sure this is going to piss off some folks. That's not my intention, but there are those whose default setting is "everyone else is wrong and I am right."

This is part of the story of creation as told in the King James version of the bible. It sure doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Oh, anything with >>>>> in front is my personal interjection.


Genesis 1

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

>>>>> Let US make man in OUR image? Just how many gods are there?


27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

>>>>> God makes man AND woman.


28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.


Genesis 2

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

>>>>> The work of creation is complete. God is finished. There is nothing more to make.


4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

>>>>> Because god knows plants won't grow unless someone is there to pick 'em.


6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

>>>>> God makes man again? Then who did he make back in Gen. 1:27. Not to mention that just a couple verses up, Gen.2:3, creation is done. Why are we making another man?


8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

>>>>> Now god makes Eden and sticks the freshly made man in it. So Eden was not a part of the original creation.


16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

>>>>> Don't eat from this tree or you will die.


18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

>>>>> Because none of the animals will be of any use to Adam whatsoever.


21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

>>>>> This time god is creating woman from man. This man and woman must be different than those god made back in Gen. 1:27.


23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

>>>>> After all, Adam is a horny guy!


25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

>>>>> Of course they weren't ashamed. No one told them they SHOULD be ashamed.


Genesis 3

1 Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

>>>>> Uh oh, the serpent is calling god a liar!


5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

>>>>> That must be some pretty powerful fruit. What would you do? Eat the fruit and become like god? Or ignore the fruit preferring to remain ignorant of what separates good from evil?


6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

>>>>> Someone here has made several assumptions:
a. They knew what "naked" was.
b. They somehow determined it was wrong to be naked.
c. They automatically wanted to cover themselves.
d. And, for some inexplicable reason, they chose to cover their genitals?


8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

>>>>> Wait, wait, wait, wait...when was the wedding? I didn't hear either of them say "I do." Did you?


9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

>>>>> God knew Adam and Eve would know what "being naked" was when they ate the fruit. So being naked (or not) is the defining line between good and evil?!


12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

>>>>> Yeah, pass the buck.


13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

>>>>> Yeah, pass the buck again.


14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

>>>>> What did the serpent do besides call god a liar??


15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

>>>>> Someone is really mixed up about where sperm and ova live.


16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

>>>>> Yes, every woman hates sex and is very sad when she has a baby.


17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

>>>>> God is sounding awfully whiny here.


18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

>>>>> So now god decides to kill some of his perfect creations - note, creations which did NOT disobey him - and turn them into clothing? Again, it looks like being naked is the dividing line between good and evil.

>>>>> Before continuing, I would like to remind us of what we read earlier:
Gen. 2:17 - on the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Gen. 3: 4-5 - And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die ... ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

>>>>> We know that god and the serpent are in direct opposition to each other. Either the man and woman will die according to god, or the man and women will not die according to the serpent. One of the two is lying. Which one?


22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

>>>>> Wait. What now? God is saying that man and woman have become like gods too? But, didn't he tell them they would die if they ate the fruit? So god is admitting he lied to them? Which means the serpent was telling the truth!!!


23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

>>>>> As if that's not enough, now god decides to kick them out of the garden in case they eat from another tree and become immortal, too! Sheesh, we can't have more gods running around!

Oh yeah, Adam did eventually die. 800 years after the birth of his third child, Seth, who was born when Adam was 130 years old. (Gen. 5:3-4)


See what I mean?

Current Mood: contemplative

I came across this little item buried deep on my hard drive. I wrote it a few years ago. Maybe I will re-visit it...


Green

She stepped out into the night and her nostrils were assailed by the odor of green. The green of lawn clippings, bruised and bleeding, piled into a sodden heap. The green of vines and tendrils and moss with rain falling down in sheets and cascades grasping wetly. Cloying, nauseating, thick and heavy green. She gagged as it seeped into her mouth and throat and nose trying desperately not to cough as it invaded her asthmatic lungs. Suffocating, she had to run, to move to find a place safe from the nightmare her life had become. A place the monster could not reach.

We finally got a break in the weather this week! It's been sunny, hot, and humid forever it seems (as is usually the case with summers in St. Louis). We have a cold front now - temperatures are only going up into the upper eighties!

Still been listening to Joan Jett, but recently dug out some Billie Meyers ("Kiss the Rain," "Tell Me") and Sophie B. Hawkins ("Damn I wish I was Your Lover").

I have also been looking around on You Tube and Diva, checking out some L7 and Corrs stuff.

Found several clips of Heart unplugged on YouTube. Anne Wilson's voice is awesome. A long time ago I heard she had a 6 or 7 octave range and I believe it. I've seen them in concert 2 or 3 times.

Was surprised to see that Vixen is still going strong. They even have a new cd out!! I saw them way back in the mid-late 70s at a custom car and auto show. They had to have just been starting out and playing whatever gigs they could. I didn't re-discover them until "Edge of a Broken Heart" became a hit.

The last few days I've been getting back into my music. Listening to Joan Jett mostly. She is so fucking awesome. Been zoning out to the Fetish CD. Some have argued it is not her best work, but there are few CD's that are so blatantly sexual.

Up Your Alley comes close - been switching that one off with Fetish. I just turn off the lights, put my headphones on, and enjoy the ride!

I've loved her since The Runaways. She played our PRIDEfest a couple years ago. I think that was the 4th time I'd seen her in concert. The only other band I saw live that often is Heart.

Heart, Vixen, Lita Ford, Suzi Quatro; those old school rock girls really knew how to do it!

Current Mood: enthralled

Woh! WWO zipped by so quickly I didn't take part much.

S'ok, though, I'm still following a couple ARGs: Deus City and Eldritch Errors. Also waiting for tLemporary to get back up and running and lurking on The Genesis Code.

August 3d! The Fallen miniseries begins! Hopefully this means The Ocular Effect will start up again!!!! Everyone cross your fingers, chant your mantras, and/or say your prayers that this is so! I at LEAST want to know what happened to Faith!!!!!!!!!

I found an interesting website today:

http://chooseyourrevolution.com/

It seems a revolution is coming. One that will involve all of us. It is a revolution in and about communication. When you sign up for this revolution you get a key.

My key is: Rich Professionals from Guam

Some other keys are:
Lower-Class Young Adults from Equatorial Guinea
Poor Women from Antarctica
Agnostic Women from Vermont
Buddhist Professionals from Tajikistan
Christian Retirees from Georgia
Spiritual Men from Thailand
Buddhist High School Students from Pitcairn Islands
Hispanic Women from Rhode Island
Native American men from Kuwait
Middle class men from Louisiana
Spiritual Executives from Falkland Islands

and they continue.

You can read about it here: http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19348

Let's think about this for a moment. What in the world is the point of these keys?! I am sure Vermont has its' share of Agnostic women. I kind of doubt that there are a large number of Native American men in Kuwait. And come on, do people even live in Antarctica? Much less enough people that "poor women" is a valid subculture?!

So there must be something else going on. Let's take another look at them. Hmm, we have rich, poor, and middle class; spiritual and agnostic; male and female; young and old; black, white, hispanic, and asian. It looks as if nearly every class, philosophy, race, and continent in the world is covered. So if this revolution is all about communication, what do all these people want to communicate?

I wonder...how many of these people can actually communicate with and understand one another? Not many is what I'm thinking. Why not? Well, personally, being from the Midwest USA, I am seriously lacking in language skills. I speak American, not even English! I know a tiny bit of Spanish and French. Not enough to even carry on a conversation. I haven't the first clue what language is spoken in Tajikistan or in Equatorial Guinea.

I am 47 years old so I am right in the middle age-wise. I think I can speak with some confidence to young adults as well as elderly people; after all, my immediate family ages range from 7 months to 87 years and I can pretty well handle myself in conversation with any of them.

Communication between people. Getting people from vastly different backgrounds to talk to one another. Provide a means for the poor antarcticans to converse with professional guamanians. Something which would allow them to gain an understanding of each other. A means by which they could share triumphs and tragedies, hopes and fears. Anything that would give the billions of people on this tiny planet an insight into one another, an empathy with one another, and, hopefully, bring peace for us all.

Now THAT would be a revolution!

My house was built in 1892. If you look at it carefully you can see evidence of the times. Up there on that wall is an old, disconnected gas jet. The house was lit with natural gas, oil lamps, and candles when it was built. Electricity was for the rich.

Come over here and look at this. See this silly little cupboard set into the wall below the kitchen window? Open it up. It's only about 5 inches deep. What good is it? You might fit a few cans of soup on the little shelves but not much else. That little cupboard is a winter icebox. Most people couldn't afford the ice for a real ice box; the kind that holds big blocks of ice in the top so the cold would filter down. Rather than plastering over the studs they would build a little cupboard like this into the wall of every kitchen. In the winter they could keep foods cold.

See this odd extension in the walls here and here? That's where the fireplaces have been hidden away. I heard from a neighbor shortly after I bought the house that she had watched the previous owner carry 3 marble mantelpieces out to the dumpster in the alley. He was "modernizing" you see.

Securely sealed inside this unusually thick archway is a pair of big, heavy, sliding pocket doors. Back when the house was built fuel was expensive. In order to stay warm in the winter parts of the house would be shut off with these doors so the available heat could be concentrated in one or two rooms. Then, when warmer weather came through, all the doors and windows would be thrown open wide to let as much air circulate as possible. If it got too hot they would sleep in the cool, dark basement.

On those hot, muggy St. Louis nights when the air is as thick as molasses they would sit out here on the front porch. See those hooks up there? That's where a comfy swing used to hang. The elders would sit on the swing and fan themselves with whatever was handy. The children, unfazed by the heat would run around chasing each other. Neighbors would stroll up and down the sidewalk exchanging greetings and news.

What's that weird box made out of bricks sitting on the ground by the alley? It's only about 4 or 5 feet high and maybe 4 feet square. Looks almost like a big chimney. That's where the trash used to be burned. They didn't have trash collectors back then. Everyone burned their household trash in the backyard pit. Not that there was very much disposable waste then.

There were no pre-packaged items. Most food was bought daily at the bakery around the corner and the butcher shop up the street. Of course those have both been turned into apartments now so you have to look really close to see what they used to be.

This whole neighborhood sits on old coal mines. My street name is Connecticut. No, not for the state; for the Connecticut-Hartford Insurance Company which underwrote the building of these homes for the coal miners. Hartford street is a couple blocks East.

Three blocks North of this house is Tower Grove Park. A beautiful arboretum. A couple more block North is Shaw's Garden; otherwise known as the Missouri Botanical Garden. Henry Shaw was a St. Louis merchant in the 1800s. Tower Grove Park was the location of his summer house. At the time, it was away from the heat, hustle and bustle of city life. He was fascinated with plants and trees and shrubs and surrounded his summer home with beautiful foliage from all over the world. Upon his retirement he deeded the lands to the City of St. Louis to be kept as a park and learning center. You can learn how to grow herbs and vegetables at the botanical garden.

A couple of miles East is the Anheuser Busch Brewery. Not very far from it was the site of the old Lemp Brewery. They were built on the Mississippi River Bluffs which are home to huge underground caverns. The beer was kept in these underground caves to keep it cool. In fact, the Lemp family extended part of their living space into the caves. There is a large ballroom in one of the bigger caverns where they would entertain guests. The ballroom was handy to the storage caves, too, so they could serve cold beer at their soirees.

Each of these solutions solved a problem of the day at a time when oil wasn't even a concern. That was just over a hundred years ago, folks.

I was talking to my wife (yes, I am a female too) about living in a world without oil; we really got to thinking about things.

One of the things I mentioned was riding bikes. But what happens when a tire blows out? Tires are a petroleum based product. She made the suggestion of recycling by burning the actual tires to run the recycling machinery.

I suppose that is possible with a lot of things. Would it be worth opening up some landfills for combustibles? It would be nice if we could keep them primarily enclosed and either bleed off the methane that would surely be there or use some kind of controlled burn procedure. Make the landfills into giant barbecue grills? 8^\

What about natural gas? I realize the mechanism that distributes it to the homes is some kind of oil-driven machinery but is there a way around that? Could natural gas be burned like oil to run the equipment that provides electricity? It would be expensive I'm sure but perhaps it could be used to provide electricity to community use places such as a local school? They could be run like the emergency red cross shelters or the heating/cooling centers created when power is lost due to storms. I know there are natural gas appliances other than hot water heaters and dryers.

Our son-in-law lives with us along with our daughter and their baby. He is a diabetic. His insulin has to be refrigerated.

I know there isn't anything particularly cohesive here; this entry is more stream-of-consciousness. I just wanted to get a few random thoughts down.

Ok, so I'm checking the local bus schedules to see what getting to work would entail; providing buses/trains are still running and providing I still have a job to go to.

First off let me start by saying I work a weird shift: Noon to anywhere from 9pm on depending on the work. Work is about 15 miles from home. Either way would require 3 buses.

To get to work by Noon I would have to catch the first bus at 10:08am. First transfer would be between 10:12 and 10:27am. The second transfer would be between 10:44 and 10:56am. I would get off the bus at 11:39am and walk the rest of the way to arrive at work about 11:50am.

Now, let's say I get off work at 10pm which is the usual time. The walk to the first bus stop, while short, is along poorly lit and mostly deserted streets. The earliest bus at that time of night would not arrive at the stop until 11:43pm. The first transfer would take place between 12:22 and 12:31am and is in a less than safe area. The second transfer would be between 12:48 and 1:10am in a safer location. I would arrive home around 1:19am.

This gives me a little over 8 hours to sleep, eat, and see my family. I hate to say it but that ain't gonna happen!

Ok, how about a bike? What is the average speed for bike riding in an urban area. Maybe 10 miles an hour? We've shaved about a half hour off the bus time.

What is the average speed for an old, fat, very out of shape woman? You want me to do what???!!! And go where?????!!!!!!!! ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!! I'd probably get 3 blocks from home and drop dead!

So, I am going to have to find some form of alternate employment.

Looks like I'll be using LJ more than Vox; I can't seem to DO anything there. I try to "manage my neighborhood" and just get a page with 2 "loading" messages on it that never refreshes.

"I will never blink!" Sorry, channeling Peanut there. http://www.onastick.com/
Jeff Dunham is hilarious.

Ok, I'm gonna give this journal thing a shot. Wonder where it will go?

My main reason for starting it is for the World Without Oil group. I've been contemplating what I will do on April 30th. I live in a city, but not an overpoweringly big one like New York or Chicago or Los Angeles. I'm in St. Louis and I have my own home.

My house lost power last July (2006) when the big thunderstorms came through. It was the hottest weekend of the summer. The power went out Thursday evening and was not restored until Tuesday afternoon. We lost all of our refrigerated food even with moving it to ice filled coolers. It was extremely hot and humid. Fortunately my house has a basement. We slept down there. It was almost bearable.

Driving around town it looked like someone had declared war on the trees and they lost. I saw a hundred year old elm tree leaning against a two story house. It had pulled up a huge chunk of sidewalk and it's exposed roots were as large as a mid-sized car. Streets were blocked by big limbs and entire trees. There were leaves and branches littering the ground everywhere you looked.

Then, in November of 2006, when the big ice storm came through, we lost power again. This time it was out from Friday evening until Wednesday morning. Again we lost a lot of food in spite of ice-filled coolers sitting outside shaded from the sun. It was cold. My house is over 110 years old and not very well insulated. There is an old, and probably dangerous, space heater in the basement which is hooked in to the gas lines and not dependant on an electric thermostat. Even at full blast it was still in the 50's temperature-wise. We were able to heat up canned foods on it which was a help. After the second night we had to go somewhere with heat to try to sleep.

But even with these "roughing it" events we were still using oil in one way or another. Of course my job didn't lose power either time so I still had to go to work. At least it was break for me from the heat or cold. But my wife was still at home dealing with the mess.

What if it lasted longer? I know some survival stuff from a fascination with it in my youth, but what about the rest of the community? While I would share what I have with my family, friends and immediate neighbors, how far would it really go? I can't stop roving gangs intent on causing mayhem or looting. Mob mentality is frightening. I guess I could pack up all my camping gear and head for the hills along with half the rest of the population.

I don't know what I would do.

Current Mood: thoughtful

Woh. They're gone. Now I'm really confused!!!

Current Mood: intimidated

How do I get rid of all the LJ instructions?

Current Mood: confused

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