Pebbles In the Stream

In responding to comments to my post about the presidential election and why it is important to consider carefully your vote and why it should be for the President I touched on a theme I would like to expand on a bit.

Everyday we make decisions about our relationship to the universe and each of those decisions, on balance, determine whether our influence/relationship with the universe is net positive or negative. Getting in the care and driving a block to the store(when we could probably walk if not disabled) is probably a negative, tossing the empty bottle in the recycling is probably a positive. The universe flows by and through us throughout our lives and as we each participate in the flow our tiny contribution is either, on balance, going to shift the overall flow toward the positive or the negative however miniscule our individual contribution is. Each action or inaction we take needs to be considered in light of the flow. Do I want to be a positive influence or a negative influence.

Home Stretch

Nice surprise the... PTB cancelled my shift for today which means that I will have a third day off in a row and I should get the final tasks in the garden completed with time to spare. Pretty much everything is planted. All the tomatoes are caged and/or staked and the peppers as well. Today will be mulching and other finalizing chores. They also cut my shift on Tuesday in half so I have actually had three and a half days it show in the progress. Everything looks nice right now but soon the battle of the weeds begins but on the plus side it is also that much closer to reaping the bounty. Really looking forward to all the new heirloom tomatoes and the new peppers. I have again planted too many of everything but I can't help myself.  I
I'll try and get a picture this afternoon if I remember to show off the handiwork.

Ditto

I just want to echo Bobby's post at BBWW re: Romney's effect. If Romney pulls out a win in November it will also probably mean that he will have both house of Congress at his back at will. For those of you that, for whatever NOBLE reason, think that withholding your vote for President Obama will somehow allow you to mark your protest of the fact that President Obama has turned out not to be the Second Coming or whatever...think again.
With a GOP congress and Romney at the helm we will be in for a nightmare. Cuts to Medicaid, Social Security, decreased spending on the safety net, increased spending for defense, complete abandonment of environmental laws and wise energy policy. Increased flow of the nation's wealth to the 1% and a complete abandonment of the less fortunate. Everything we progressives hate most will be the plan. If you can't see the positive potential of keeping the GOP at bay even with the evidence of the Ryan budget and the last 3 plus years of dysfunctional government staring you in the face you are at best delusional. Protest, write letters, blog your dissatisfaction, wear your hair shirt anyway you like but make the only semi-rational decision and do your best to see that we don't become a nation where the idiots in the current GOP are running the show.
I know President Obama has not my or your expectations but I also understand a lot of the reasons why. The reality of GOP governance has me scared juice less and if Bugs Bunny were my only choice over Romney that is where my vote would be.

To reiterate what Bobby said....If you don't vote for Obama over Romney or you withhold your vote for Obama out of protest for not getting whatever "pony" you were expecting, you will be doing exactly as Karl Rove, the Koch brothers, Norquist and all the other wealthy white old guys want.  Of course they want you to vote against your own self interest and vote for Romney but if they can get you to not vote for Obama it will be at least a half a loaf and they will win, just with not as large a margin. Think about it....do you really want to do what Karl Rove wants.

Earth Day

It is Earth Day tomorrow and more than ever we need to recognize the important relationship we all have with our Mother. We cannot continue to ignore her needs lest she begin to ignore ours. We are of her and her health and well being are ours. To challenge this truth is insanity. Thanks to Hecate for the poem.

May the blessing of Sunlight fall upon you!
May its warmth embrace you like a great
hearth-fire, and nourish your green growing things.
And may its heat not exceed proper measure!

May the blessing of rain wash over you!
May its sweet waters run through
your streams and rivers and render
them fair and clear once again.
May they find their way to your
seas, your deep seas where the blue
of heaven shines, and may your seas
teem again with fish of every kind.
And may your seas not exceed proper measure!

May your old forests rise again, that
the council of the growing things be
heard in the land.
May we remember each and all living
things have a place in the order.
And may we not let our portion, the
human being portion, exceed our own
proper measure!

~Michael Green

It's Earth Day and you need to figure out how you can be a blessing to Mother Earth. You need to concentrate on how you can leave Her healthier than you found Her. It doesn't take much. Recycle, compost bin, vegetable garden, leaving off with insecticides, whatever. Small things add up.

 Note:
For those of you not aware. The above poem is a powerful spell and you should each read it out loud and with an emotional commitment to its truth and power.  If enough of us make the emotional investment in the ideas expressed it will shift the force just that much further toward the positive.

Blessed be!

No Surprise

Well it is two years tomorrow since the Deepwater Horizon spill and in spite of what we are being told by the PWTB and American media Al Jazeera actually has done some reporting on the ongoing effects of the worst environmental disaster of all time. It's ugly and very sad.

“The fishermen have never seen anything like this,” Dr Jim Cowan told Al Jazeera. “And in my 20 years working on red snapper, looking at somewhere between 20 and 30,000 fish, I’ve never seen anything like this either.”
Dr Cowan, with Louisiana State University’s Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences started hearing about fish with sores and lesions from fishermen in November 2010.
Cowan’s findings replicate those of others living along vast areas of the Gulf Coast that have been impacted by BP’s oil and dispersants.
Gulf of Mexico fishermen, scientists and seafood processors have told Al Jazeera they are finding disturbing numbers of mutated shrimp, crab and fish that they believe are deformed by chemicals released during BP’s 2010 oil disaster.
Along with collapsing fisheries, signs of malignant impact on the regional ecosystem are ominous: horribly mutated shrimp, fish with oozing sores, underdeveloped blue crabs lacking claws, eyeless crabs and shrimp – and interviewees’ fingers point towards BP’s oil pollution disaster as being the cause.

We are being lied to. No surprise there. Just keep in mind that the Gulf of Mexico provides about 40% of the seafood consumed in the U.S. and if you think all the eyeless shrimp, mutated crabs and lesion covered fish were consigned to the trash and never reached a dinner table somewhere think again. We haven't seen the full effect of the spill even yet and when we do we are going to be even more horrified. Don't worry though because BP and the other oil companies are making record profits and we are paying record prices for gas.

Surprised

I was scheduled from 8a to 1p yesterday but instead of cashier I had to work the lot as the actual lot guy didn't show up. All the rest of the folks in the "front end" department are women so it fell to me to do the lot. Shouldn't have been too hard on a Monday morning but the "garden fever" of the weekend spilled over and I found myself really busy. Just for fun I kept track of what I loaded in my 5 hours. 172 bales of pine straw. 24 bales of wheat straw. 62 bags of "Moo-nure", 26 bags of top soil and 108 bags of assorted mulch. I was cream crackered by the end. I did, however, with Madam's help, get my 100 plus pepper plants in the ground yesterday afternoon in anticipation of the overnight rains which never came. I don't have to be at work until 3p today so I am going to try and get some more stuff planted before then.

Different

Funny, as in weird, the new store is scheduling me as a garden associate a couple of days a week. I've always been just a cashier but now, even though I am still in the "cashier department" I am having to cross clock into the "garden department" every once in a while. No big deal and it is a nice change not to be tied to a register and be able to walk around and help customers with their garden questions. It isn't like I don't know anything about gardening as you sometimes find at such places. It is also surprising how little so many people know about the basics of gardening and plant care. You get questions about fertilizing beans and their faces go blank when you explain how legumes fix their own nitrogen. I am off in a few minutes for another day as a "garden associate" and we'll see what we can do to help the world stay a little greener. It is a quandary though when people ask me about pesticides and such...yes they will kill the bugs but at what price to your kids, pets, neighbors and planet? I try and give them some options.

Hard Gardening

I'm on the second of two days off and more intensive gardening today. Yesterday I got half the tomatoes planted...that would be 55 plants so far. The balance today plus an almost equal number of pepper plants if I have time. Yesterday were the main season varieties, Celebrity, Rutgers, San Marzano, and Italian Heirloom. Today will be smaller numbers of heirloom varieties. Lemon Drop, Cherokee Purple, Velvet Red, Wapsipincon Peach, Moonglow, Gold Medal and a couple of others. Also have to plant the Aunt Molly's ground cherry which will be a new one for me.
All the squash, beans, cucumbers, okra, corn and all still need to be planted but this is the last day off for a few. I have to keep reminding myself that it is only the middle of April and that I have plenty of time but the warm temperatures are driving me.
This year I am going for low maintenance since I have limited time. Newspaper mulch around the tomatoes, okra, peppers, and eggplant to help with the weeds and heavy mulching of other stuff. Maybe I can stay ahead of the weeds with less work this year.
If the warm temperatures and scarce rainfall so far this year it could be a challenging summer for us gardeners.

Holiday Over

Our friends have left to  catch the last two days of the Masters in Augusta. We had a great time...ate too much and all that. Both of them look great and especially Fred and he seems to have bounced back from heart surgery and abdominal surgery last year. He even went to the gym with me one day. Madam caught up on all the gossip with her best friend. It was really a nice time. No real agenda, just hanging out.
I did get the garden laid out yesterday afternoon so some gardening was done on the week off and I'll probably get some planting done over the week. The nighttime temps have gone back to pretty much normal for this time of year so I don't feel so pressured to get something in the ground as they will just sit there until the temps stay a little warmer overnight.
Back to work today and tomorrow and both days I am scheduled as a Lot Associate. Probably won't have to actually do the lot stuff, which is hard work for an old man but I can....at least it won't get into the 80's today or tomorrow.
Everyone, who feels so inclined, enjoy your Easter. Try and limit the jelly beans, Peeps and chocolate bunnies if you can. If you actually went all old fashioned and colored some actual eggs try making deviled eggs after you roll them around the lawn. I might add that a pinch of curry powder, Dijon mustard, a pinch of sea salt and rice vinegar make a nice deviled egg. If you are adventurous then a bit of Srirachi makes a fine addition as well.

Friends Time

Our friends from Arkansas arrived last night on their way to the Masters. We haven't seen them in a couple of years and it is really nice to get back together. They drove straight through and arrived just at the beginning of the NCAA game. A good thing as they are big time Kentucky fans as he is an alum.
Going to play for the next couple of days and get caught up. Eat some good food and probably drink a little too much and laugh a lot. It will be even quieter that usual around here.

Just Stuff

Today Madam and I celebrate our 39th anniversary...hard to believe. For her gift she got new tires and a tuneup on her Explorer. Aren't I romantic?  I have to work this afternoon and evening so we won't be doing a special dinner, tonight at least.
I did hit a rather nice milestone Wednesday as well. Since I modified my diet(6 wks ago) to eliminate "fast carbs" (high glycemic index foods), eliminated processed foods, foods made with white flour, and all sugars even substitutes and increased the whole grains and added mostly vegan protein I have shed just over twenty pounds. Granted I am working out but I was before with no appreciable weight loss so this seems like a good thing. I might also note that my fasting blood sugar is staying at about 90 or below and while I am still taking the meds I will shortly start removing them and we'll see what happens. That will be the true test.
My first two shifts at the new store were rather challenging. For some reason my userid and password aren't working at the new store yet and since I can't log into a register they had me on the lot. That means loading a lot of bags of mulch, top soil, pine straw, etc, as well as rounding up carts and wagons from all over the lot. Not a job for an old man even one in reasonably good shape. I told them yesterday that I wouldn't do that again and to get the password thing fixed or don't bother scheduling me. I'm scheduled today, tomorrow and Sunday so they will have a shortage of cashiers if it is not fixed and it is a "Black Friday" weekend starting today. Lots of deals so the place will be hopping especially in the garden. Last Saturday the garden center accounted for almost 70% of the day's store sales about 80K$ and it should be even busier this weekend.
Off to water in the greenhouse where everybody looks happy and almost ready to go into the garden and then to work. Cheers!

Patience

I really, really need to keep reminding myself that it is just now spring and not yet time to go full tilt in the garden. We can still have some freezing weather between now and Easter so I need to hold off a bit longer. With the highs hitting the 70's everyday it is really hard to believe that Spring is fully sprung. I've got a day off but there is transplanting to do and more seeds to get started. I'm going to start the corn in trays again this year since I was so successful last year. Way late in getting basil and parsley started as well. I was going to get an early start today but when I picked up my glasses yesterday morning to put them on they just snapped in half so instead of gardening this morning I had to make a trip to the optician. It always something.
Minimonk dropped off the three dogs yesterday so we now have a houseful of canines to watch over as well. They are probably going to want to do something besides watch me transplant  tomato seedlings most of the day.

Whirlwind

Good productive two days off. Finished the final tilling of the garden and now it is ready for the beginning of planting. The team finished the house painting just as scheduled and now it is a nice dark green (rosemary) with white trim. Much different experience than the last painting job which took 6 weeks and the involvement of my lawyer. The recommendations of Angie's List came through this time.
While the boys finished up the painting yesterday I got all the outside lighting replaced with new lanterns by the garage doors and front door. Replaced the locks and deadbolts on the front and back doors. I also (Madam's help) got half the tomato plant seedlings transplanted into their own little cells. They'll be ready for the garden in a couple of weeks. I once again have way too many tomato plants but I'm thinking my friends down the road will take some off my hands. Now back to work for the last three days at the old store and then start the next Tuesday at the new one around the corner. Gotta go make my lunch and head out...everyone enjoy their weekend.

Just The First of Many

A little more is coming out about the tragic murder of civilians in Afghanistan by an American serviceman. It turns out the guy is on his 4th rotation only this time it was Afghanistan and he was not happy about the deployment. The military/government are trying to hype this as a soldier becoming deranged and the rampage the result. The probable truth is that the guy was frustrated, mentally exhausted and lashing out. If he was actually "deranged" then he would have probably turned his weapon on his buddies. It happened in Vietnam and even after deployment to Vietnam was over in places like Hawaii. I know because I was there and witnessed it first hand. It is just one of the symptoms of "battle fatigue".

The thing is, it doesn't matter how professional, elite, or well-disciplined your army is, if you put them in theaters like Iraq, Afghanistan and yes, Vietnam for 10 years with an open ended and undefined  mission  mixed with an indigenous population where you can't tell the good guys from the bad you're going to have trouble. Add rotations of four, five, or six tours to the mix and you have a recipe for disaster.  Afghanistan is not materially different from Vietnam in this respect and until the generals and chicken hawks admit it, this kind of thing will continue to happen and even escalate.

In case I wasn't clear...this guy wasn't "deranged" or just all of a sudden went off the deep end. His actions were a product of this environment and completely the result of his repeated deployment into what I am sure he realized was a "no win" situation. Frustration, anger, resentment and a sense of powerlessness to control his own destiny were the triggers. It is tragic that a bunch of civilians got in his way of venting his anger. Just as tragic, however, is for us to buy into the military/government hype that this guy was "deranged" thereby removing any responsibility for the soldier's actions. They will try very hard to distance themselves from the reality that this whole tragic affair is because of their poor or nonexistent management of this whole Afghanistan thing and the terrible burdens that they are putting on our men and women in uniform.

Snakes Today

Just came back from the gym and went out to open the greenhouse door as it is going to be in the 80's again today and lo and behold there was a small king snake stalking a lizard in front of the basement door. I spent a good half hour watching the snake inch closer and closer and finally spring. It only took a couple of minutes thereafter for the lizard to disappear down the hatch. The crazy thing is that this happened in the middle of March. Very bad sign for the summer which is probably going to set records for temperature and who knows what else.
We've got house painters coming Monday to start on the house and I have to remember to tell them not to panic or kill the snake if they see it. King snakes are nice to have around as they do a  good job of keeping the poisonous away. In this part of Georgia we normally only see copperheads and the occasional moccasin though the rare Eastern timber rattler will surface now again. I am sure it will be a Hispanic crew and I don't know if they have the same reiculous fear of all snakes that your typical American does.

Sprung

By my calendar it is officially Spring as I tilled the garden yesterday. I got two passes in and got most of the green manure turned under before it started to sprinkle. That should break down before planting gets into full swing in mid April. Rained all night and it is just beginning to clear up this morning. Since my outdoor endeavors are on hold I am going to plant some stuff. I'll get the okra and eggplant started today and maybe a little more. Going to try rest up a bit today after a couple of hard days. Going to the gym and then spending the  rest of the day in the garden is a lot. Since we are now on daylight time  I also have to gird myself for the earlier mornings and later nights. I don't start tomorrow until 8a but Thursday it is 545a..uhg!
There is some good news however....and that is my efforts to get transferred to the store nearest me (5 minutes) have finally borne fruit and I start there on the 26th...hooray.

Poison Sugar

Today is my third "official day" without sugar of any kind...not even fruit. Whole grain, lean meat, yogurt, eggs vegetables, legumes, etc. This is only for the first 10 days or so and then I can start adding some fruit. Just tow days without any sugars and I added 10 pounds to most of the exercises in my weight routine and 15 pounds to the chest press. I also added 15 additional situps to each of my three sets. I have to believe that the lack of sugar has to be the cause of some of it especially as my fasting blood sugar was 111 this morning when it is normally 130 or 140 and sometimes even higher. Just saying.  I've actually jumped the gun a bit since the program I am following calls for eliminating just sugar the first day, adding a teaspoon of cinnamon the second, eliminating soft drinks and fruit juice the third and "fast carbs" the fourth. I was already doing cinnamon daily and except for my Snapple Green Tea not doing soft drinks. I decided "fast carbs" and sugar could be eliminated from the get go. The next couple of days are eating a good breakfast with eggs and or Greek yogurt which I already do and not eating any fast food which I don't do very often (every week or two I will have a Wendy's cheeseburger so I won't miss fast food). All things considered I am well ahead of the curve. Though I must admit I was tempted this morning to do my traditional Sunday breakfast with bacon, eggs and toast. I opted for oatmeal with cinnamon and Greek yogurt and the gym.

There is also the requirement to drink a liter/quart of water for every 50 pounds of body weight a day which is proving very tough. For me that is 5 liters and that's a lot of water. What's worse is I had a cup of coffee and a cup of tea this morning which means an extra liter. I'll be doing yard and garden work for the rest of the day so maybe I'll have a chance to meet my water quota. It's another gorgeous spring day here in Atlanta and the forecast is for daytime highs in the 70's for the next week. Lots of blooming already happening.

New Program

I have been doing a lot of research on Type 2 diabetes and am convinced that all the medications I am taking(metformin, glimiperide, losartan, plus the statin) are probably not necessary if I can change my lifestyle just a little.
Sugar and "fast carbs" are the devils that I have to purge. I already do a lot of things right...no sodas(even diet), eat mostly whole grains, lots of veges and legumes. I still have to deal with things like chips, crackers, etc.
Today I started on a program to eliminate every sugar and "fast carbs" from my diet for 10 days including all the "hidden sugars in processed foods(I don't really eat that many but some). All forms of sugar are out including artificial sweeteners. Today I had my one cup of coffee without Splenda and I eliminated it from my tea a while back. This also means I have to give up my Snapple Diet Green Tea which I love since it has both Splenda and sugar. Bummer. The other bummer is that I am going to have to cut way back on my wine which isn't going to make me happy.
The thing is I already am pretty careful about my food, no HFCS, minimal sugar etc. and I try and avoid processed foods and white flour. Not careful enough so now I have to become a fanatic. Hopefully in a couple of weeks my insulin and adrenaline will be back in balance and my pancreas all rested up from having to produce insulin in excess and we will see if this lifestyle change has an impact on the diabetes and the need for all the drugs for sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol. Everything I have read tells me I can lose these drugs with some changes to my life style. We shall see.
Did you know that today the average American consumes 170 pounds of sugar per year in all its forms compared to 100 years ago when the average consumption was 4 pound per year.
In a famous study with rats it was discovered that given the choice of cocaine or sugar the rats chose sugar and worked harder to get sugar than cocaine.
It is poison.

Almost Off

I was off yesterday and got the peas(sugarsnap and green) planted as well as potatoes. I was beginning to worry that I was going to miss the window. I also managed to get four more blueberries planted. I am off today for the most part as well (I do have to go in for 4 hours tonight at 5) but I should actually have a chance to get something done before then. I just finished 6 days straight and so the first thing this morning will be the gym which I haven't seen in a week.
I will have 3 whole days off starting tomorrow...hooray!

Murder By Any Name

There has been quite a dust up regarding the Attorney General's comments on the Executive branch's need and justification for killing American citizens without "due process". Let me just start out by saying that I don't agree that "due process" justifies killing anybody whether friend or foe. I do, however, want to try and bring some perspective to the issue.

The harsh reality is that our government has been killing American citizens without "due process" since before it was actually our government and that has been through the inhuman act of war. Thousands and thousands of American soldiers have been killed since our country's founding in war without "due process". You can argue that a Declaration of War by the Congress is "due process" but I beg to differ. Regardless of whether an official Declaration of War is, in fact, "due process" the point becomes effectively mute when you consider the actions of our government since the Authorization to Use Military Force was granted after 9/11. You can argue until you are blue in the face that the AUMF was "due process" but the fact remains that thousands of American lives were lost and are still being lost based on lies and without "due process".

The idea that killing/murder/death of your own or others for any reason that you might decided upon is wrong, regardless of reason whether it be for revenge, oil, politics or religion. Nothing justifies it.

So here is the deal. It is wrong for the Executive branch to effect this power but let's be real...it is just another flavor of government sanctioned killing/murder/death. If we are going to get our skivvies in a knot let's, at least, get them in a knot over the whole enchilada and not as some half-baked excuse to accuse this President of some grievous crime against the Constitution.

While I am at it I might as well go the next step and mention that our current sanctions against Iran are just another way of killing/murder/death without the bullets. Just like the sanctions we imposed on Iraq, these sanctions are going to kill the poor, the children and the least able to protect themselves. None of the powerful in Iran will suffer just like none of the powerful in Iraq suffered. The sanctions will, just like Iraq, kill thousands of the least able to protect themselves and it will all be without "due process".