Java Zen:Thinking Out Loud Friday, 2024.03.29
Demand the establishment of the government in its rightful home at Disneyland.

2007.01.01

2007 – Let’s Light This Candle

For the past two years I’ve had my own private Festival of Lights on the eve’s of Christmas and the New Year. That makes it a tradition. And it’s one of my own making. Building a new life, it turns out, rests on paying attention to the little things and building from there. Here are a few pictures from last night’s festival. In all, there were 68 candles this year. There were more last year, but this year I hadn’t bothered to find lamp oil for the oil candles. The music for the hours leading up to midnight: Eva Cassidy and Keola Beamer.

Table Center Piece

The tree is lit by magical Festival of Lights fairies. Either that or electricity, I can never remember which.

Sideboard

Music and candlelight. Together, they make something much more than just the parts.

Music

Even the bearded lady shows well in candlelight. About as well as she does in bright sunlight.

Jasmine

The wine was a bottle of a favorite I’d been holding for a while – Turnbull Merlot, 2003. It was excellent.

Turnbull Merlot

All set, the evening was spent thinking, remembering, planning and writing. I’m ready for 2007.

2006.12.31

Blog Haiku #11

Silent blogosphere.
A blogger posts.
Sound of nothing.

2006.12.29

Colorado Winter

A second sizable blast of winter arrived today and Jasmine was wearing the storm’s vanguard late yesterday afternoon. Being a Scottish breed, she is built for cold weather.

Jasmine

So far, the chimes still sing, but the drift is building. There is less wind this go around.

Chimes VI

And for Buddha, nothing special…

Winter Buddha V

This is how I remember the winters of my youth – lots of snow and cold.

2006.12.24

Blog Haiku #10

The light of 68 candles
Warms the room.
But not the heart.

2006.12.23

Free To Sing Again…

Chimes V

Traveling Monkeys

The TSA has rules for handling monkeys. (H/T Bruce Schneier) Hay, I’m a monkey! Or a primate, anyway. Pay attention TSO-types:

  • TSOs have been trained to not touch the monkey during the screening process.

But I want to know, when is the humiliation going to stop?

  • The inspection process may require that the handler take off the monkey’s diaper as part of the visual inspection.

Yet another reason to dislike air travel.

2006.12.22

Blog Haiku #9

The News
That is not News
Is the News

2006.12.21

End Of The Storm, End Of The Day

The storm appears to have passed. There are patches of blue sky…

Blue Sky

…the sun shines on the frozen wind chimes, lighting a promise they will sing again…

Chimes IV

…and still, is Buddha…

Winter Buddha IV

Such is Colorado.

Emergency Almost-Preparedness

Folks in the neighborhood are starting to dig out. My neighbor’s dog, Cher, is loving the weather as well as free reign over the streets.

Cher

And then there is the ever steady Jasmine, inspecting my work on the driveway.

Jasmine

Thought I was prepared for the storm, with a good stock of the essentials (beer and chocolate) until my neighbor returned from a mini odyssey to three separate grocery stores to find his version of essentials (chips, chips and…oh, yeah, chips). He happened to mention about half the gasoline stations were out of gas and closing up. Then it dawns on me (Wow! Two sunrises in one day!) that there is only about a 1/4 tank in the truck. The tankers aren’t likely to be making it through this snow for a few days and then it’s Christmas. So, I saddled up my trusty steed (Chained up, actually. All four wheels, no less.) and off I went to fill ‘er up. I found a station close by with gas and on the way there and back passed about a half dozen cars – sedans, mind you – stuck in the snow with people trying to push their way out. Fools. FOOLS! This is Colorado, not Florida. When it snows, you need something like this:

Pickup

“Protector”, my war pony.

Snowed In

And loving it. The wind chime chimes no more…

Chimes III

    Somewhere within these drifts rests the silent wind chime…

    Roof Drifts

    The view from the front door…

    Front Door View

    That drift hanging over the eve has crashed down several times during the night with a deep thud. Such noises, like Summer thunder, get Jasmine’s attention and she barks to alert the house. This also means that the snow just outside the garage has been well packed by both the wind and the falling drift from the roof. The final link in all this is that I have to chisel my way out when clearing the driveway. Sure enough. The ruler is showing 37.5 inches of hard packed snow.

    Shoveling

    And still, is Buddha…

    Winter Buddha III

2006.12.20

The Day Fades On A Fierce Storm

The snow continues to blanket my humble home…

Chimes II

…while the wind improvises a symphony with the wind chimes (click image to see video)…

Winter Wind Chimes

…and still, is Buddha…

Winter Buddha II

Inside is warm…

Dinner on the Hearth

Yes, that’s my fine dinnerware you see there (Thanksgiving leftovers, yum!) The beer, an excellent home brew we called “Ode to Oscar Stout” in honor of Little Big Man himself, has been featured on this blog before.

The Developing Storm

A view of the wind chimes outside the second floor window. The ridge of snow is a drift being created on the lower level roof by the wind. Normally, there would be a clear view down to the driveway below.

Chimes

This intrepid sparrow has been camped at the bird feeder for the better part of an hour. He is on the down wind side of the feeder and thus protected from the driving snow. Plus, he has easy access to the seed with no apparent competition. In spite of the weather, this little fellow projects a rather cozy image.

Sparrow

Winter Meditation

Denver and the front range are currently getting hammered by the worst storm of the season, so far anyway. Some are saying it will be worse than the blizzard of ’03. For Buddha, this is just another moment.
Winter Buddha

Blog Haiku #8

Piercing, sharp snow
Rides a biting wind.
Reflected in a cloudy post.

2006.12.17

It’s All About You, But You Knew That, Didn’t You?

Time Magazine’s Person of the Year: You

So, since “You” are the Person of the Year that makes “Everyone” the Person of the Year which makes “No One” Person of the Year. So just chill and get back to work. You’re not so special after all. Now, “Me”, on the other hand…

UPDATE!

Once again, the crack Java Zen Table, Desk and Counter Intelligence Teams have intercepted crucial documents. This time, it’s the early candidates for Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.” Here’s the finalist…

POTY Final

… and here are the candidate personal pronouns:

POTY Draft 2 POTY Draft 1
POTY Draft 3 POTY Draft 4

[Edit History]

2006.12.17

Tim Blair has sussed a slight conceptual problem with Time magazine’s selection for Person of the Year.


All content copyright © 1994 - Gregory Paul Engel, All Rights Reserved. The content or any portion thereof from this web site may not be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the written consent of Gregory Paul Engel. Queries may be sent to greg dot engel at javazen dot com.

No posts for this category or search criteria.