Morning Update: 05/08/24

Morning Update: 05/08/24

May 8, 2024

There were few good moments yesterday as it would rain, then stop, then rain more, then stop, then wind, more rain, a threat of tornadoes, then nothing. My body didn’t have time to adjust too much so it decided to shut down. Our shipment of cat litter arrived before the kids got home so I had to be the one to carry it in. My body didn’t like that. Nausea hit so hard that I had to take a shower and change clothes. Most of the rest of the day was spent in bed or in the bathroom. Fortunately, the kids are good at taking care of themselves, but I actually had a decent dinner planned and couldn’t stand up long enough to fix it.

Tipper had a problem at school yesterday when someone in one of her classes wrote “Fuck [her name]” on one of the tables. Since no one admitted witnessing the act, no one was admonished or punished. Tipper is more than ready to graduate and never see those particular classmates again. Fortunately, she’ll be in a more supportive atmosphere next school year.

Ryn (aka Big Gabe) called yesterday and gave me an update on all the gossip in that part of the family. The biggest impact is that they’ve blocked their grandparents for refusing to recognize them as non-binary. Their grandfather’s 85th birthday is next week and Ryn’s refusing to go, which I totally agree with. The grandparents have been nothing but manipulative their entire life and if they can’t be supportive then no, Ryn has no obligation to associate with them.

The other big news is that I’m attempting to get back into photography. All the why and wherefore are in yesterday’s post. I’m looking for volunteers so I can update my portfolio appropriately. Contact me here or on Facebook. How I’m going to juggle this along with the chemo, I don’t know. To a large degree, it doesn’t matter. Congress isn’t likely to prevent the severe cut in Social Security scheduled for ’33, so I need to take preventative action of my own now, even if it causes further health issues.

Speaking of the dicks in Congress, House Speaker Johnson doesn’t seem to understand how the separation of powers works. Yesterday, he “demanded” that all trials against the former president must stop on grounds that they amount to election interference. Yeah, that’s really the tact they’re taking. Nimwits. That’s not the way the system works. Congress doesn’t get to interfere in ongoing trials. These idiots are power-hungry and severely delusional. Please, vote and replace them all.

The fog this morning is severe. More rain is forecasted for this evening so I’ll need to complete whatever I’m going to do early today. Not that I had much planned, mind you. Feel free to distract me with coffee.

Art / Cancer Update / Current Issues / Morning Update / Personal / Photography

Morning Update: 04/15/24

April 15, 2024

April Showers [April 20, 2008, colorized]

Happy Tax Day!

A FRIENDLY REMINDER OF WHY YOU NEED TO VOTE!

Some days we just need to be quiet. That explains why I’ve not posted anything extra over the weekend. With the weather being better, I was able to relax and sleep, repairing some of the damage done by almost two straight weeks of rain. When I wasn’t sleeping, I watched the news unfold in Gaza, sitting outside with the dogs, and enjoying Tipper celebrating her birthday. The kids managed to mow the lawn without too much arguing. The dogs rolled around over the fresh-cut grass. We watched as a neighbor’s two-year-old tried kicking a soccer ball and missed repeatedly.

I mentioned yesterday about the huge furry head Tipper got for her birthday. It’s roughly three times the size of her normal head with blue and black fur and a textured face that looks rather vicious. She decided to wear it while G was moving, along with her white and red cape. It was an interesting look.

We have a lot of families who walk through the neighborhood when the weather is nice. A family with a little one, probably 14-16 months old, was out about the same time as the kids. The little guy was already fussy. He absolutely wanted to be carried. Then, he saw Tipper. The volume of his screams went up enough that I heard them from inside the Recovery Room. The little guy was wrapped around his dad’s leg, screaming as much as his little lungs allowed. I think his dad thought the baby was just continuing to fuss, but the look on this baby’s face said otherwise. I’d be willing to be Tipper was in his nightmares last night!

Today iLearn testing begins in Indiana. This is that wonderful time of year when the state attempts, miserably, to make all our multi-shaped personalities fit into the round hole that adults think they need to fit. I cannot say enough bad things about standardized testing. Studies have repeatedly shown how deficient they all are, and iLearn continues to be one of the worst ever conceived. Neurodivergent children are especially misserved during this testing. There are limited resources to help kids get through these tests and if you don’t know about them and advocate for your children, they won’t get the help. I hope our kids will grow up and outlaw this imbecilic means of pushing children toward sameness rather than glorifying their individuality.

We’re still keeping a close eye on the Middle East. President Biden has said that the US will not help Israel retaliate. What the weekend proved, however, is that we can help minimize the effects of attacks without setting foot on soil. Israel is not a member of NATO, yet we are spending MILLIONS to help them defend themselves against attack. Why won’t we do the same for Ukraine? If one deserves our help, there’s no reasonable argument for denying the other. Either we’re in, completely, or we’re out. We can’t afford to let Russia win any more than we can afford to give Iran any manner of foothold. Both are controlled by absolutely insane people who have no concern for human life. We need to put them both out of commission.

G told me yesterday that he needs AA batteries. So, I put together a small order that’s being delivered this morning. A third of the cost is taxes and fees that I wouldn’t need to pay if I could drive. 😒This drives me nuts. On the bright side, it was here before 7:30.

It’s been over three weeks since I’ve set foot outside the confines of the yard. I’m feeling that maybe it’s time to get out again. We’ll see how safe I feel wandering with the dogs today. Meanwhile, Solaris has the zoomies. No place on the bed is safe.

Let’s talk briefly about this morning’s picture. It was taken almost exactly 16 years ago. This is the first time we shot with Alicia. The rain you see is real, not manufactured. We originally processed the 8-megapixel image in black-and-white because technology at the time barely made the rain visible in color. For this morning, we took the processed .TIFF file (because I don’t have the RAWs) and colorized it, then enhanced the texture to pick up on the rain.

Alicia was just stepping into modeling. Her eldest son, Benjamin, was still the tiniest little guy. Now, she’s happily married, living in Florida, and has two more little buggers running around keeping her busy. Looking back on memories like this makes me smile, and make me very happy there was no lightning that morning. I miss moments like this and cherish them to the core of my being.

Art / Image Only / Photography

Making Showers Interesting

April 11, 2024

Today has been unpleasant as the rain continued with little abatement. I’ve not been able to rest more than 30 minutes at a time. I’ve been unable to eat, so I’ll need to force myself now. Even watching anything of length has been challenging. So, I’ve edited old pictures.

I rarely toss someone out in the rain because of the threat of lightning. Showers are a much better way of getting someone wet, but they have the problem of having perhaps the most boring background in the world. So, I went back to some different shoots, some all the way back to 2008, and fixed that problem a bit with AI. This achieves an effect we wouldn’t dare try in reality. I suppose we could have faked it, but the cost factor would be problematic. The biggest challenge here was that the 2008 shots were saved at a small 72 dpi, forcing us to upscale them. Again, the AI helps keep the image from pixelating. I hope you find them interesting.

Storms of a Personal Nature [2019 original with AI background]

Lost in the Rain [2019 original with AI background]

Shower in the Storm [2019 original with AI background]

Caught in the Rain [2012 original with AI background]

A Natural Clean [2008 original with AI background]

A Cold Rain [2008 original with AI background]

victim of the storm [2008 original with AI background]

Cancer Update / Current Issues / Morning Update / Natural Light / Personal / pop culture

Morning Update: 04/11/24

April 11, 2024

This Doesn’t Feel Like Home (2020 original with AI background)

Today marks 19 years since I moved from Atlanta to Indianapolis. I’ve lived here longer than anywhere. I have more connections here than anywhere. Yet, there is this eternal, nagging feeling that this is not home. I constantly question whether I’m doing anyone any good by being here. Two weeks in, I knew I had made a horrible mistake, but I was contractually obligated at the time, and by the time that contract was over, I was too broke to move back. That condition has remained the same ever since, and now Atlanta’s changed so much that I can’t see myself returning there. I’m not sure there’s anywhere now where I’m going to feel at home.

There is no way today is a good day. The rain kept me in pain, tossing and turning all night. I’ve had the headache from hell all night but I can’t take more pain meds until after 7:00. I gave up and decided to sit at the desk a little after 4. The dogs started pawing at me around 4:30, but I tried putting them off until at least 6. When they paw, they scratch, and my skin is fragile enough that it bleeds. So, at 5:00 I finally relented and let them out. When we came in, as per routine, I fed them and the cats. If I don’t feed the cats they get loud. Apparently, that was a mistake. The dogs eating woke Kat up and now she’s pissed at me.

The rain will continue to fall all day. My body hasn’t liked rain for years because of the arthritis. In my current condition, all pain levels are elevated. I can’t sleep. Eating is difficult. Walking is difficult. Sitting isn’t comfortable. There’s nothing about this existence that’s going to feel good no matter what I do. I’ve shut the door to the Recovery Room and will do my best to stay away from other people so that I don’t ruin the day for everyone who has to put up with me.

19 years ago, I was contractually obligated to be in Indianapolis on this date. That meant I had to leave on Ben’s 10th birthday. There was a big party going on in his grandparent’s yard when I had to say goodbye. He seemed annoyed that I was interrupting his fun. After all, it was his birthday. There were more important things than Dad leaving, right?

I didn’t get to talk to him yesterday. I messaged him, left him a voicemail, but his life still has too many other things going on. I hear from Ben the least. I’m not sure where he’s working or what’s going on in his personal life. From his perspective, it probably doesn’t matter. It never has. Even when his mom and I first separated, I’d call in the evening and after a couple of weeks Ben told me, “Dad, you know you don’t have to call every night.”

What I did get was a very attractive picture of Gabe, my third in line. His hair is about the same length as mine now, only more full, like mine was when I was young. He turns 26 next week. My leaving hurt him the most. He didn’t understand that I wasn’t coming back for his birthday. The phone call I fielded that afternoon still hurts me today. I wasn’t there for my baby. I should have broken the fucking contract and gone back.

Now, I worry how much I’ll disappoint G and Tipper. I need to find someplace to live where someone can take of me without being stressed, if such a place exists. I’ll be leaving two more kids that I love. Maybe they’ll be like Ben and it won’t bother them that I’m gone, that I won’t be here in the morning or when they get home from school. After all, they have their own friends, do their own thing, spend a lot of time in their rooms on the phone or in games. If I’m lucky, they won’t miss me.

Groceries yesterday totalled a touch over $330 including a 44-pound bag of dog food that I struggled to wrangle into the house. One of the issues with having groceries delivered is that it is only right that the shopper be tipped. A 15% tip on yesterday’s order was just short of $45. I would have rather paid a friend to take me and walk with me as I did the shopping myself. It would have been more productive. 12 items were substituted out of a list of 30. That’s over 30%. I have trouble believing that the only substitute available for frozen french fries was “potato puffs.” When I ask for a frozen family meal, an individual meal is not an adequate substitute. Isn’t that just common sense? Apparently not.

Food items and their costs are only going to get worse. There’s nothing I can do to stop that. Earlier this morning I was reading that more companies are looking for ways to reduce the amount of cocoa in their products, including candy makers such as Mars and Hershey. Global warming and disease are to blame. Resources have diminished so dramatically that it is not sustainable for companies to continue using high-price ingredients even if they raise the price. They know that there’s a limit to how much people are willing to pay for a 2.5-ounce candy bar.

The problem isn’t just with cocoa, though. Last year, coffee prices took a huge jump after supplies ran dangerously low. That’s why you’re paying $6 for a six-ounce cup of your favorite brew. Part of the issue is that competitive alternatives, such as mushroom coffee, still contain bean coffee in some form. By the time you add in the cost of the additional processing, the alternatives cost more than the original, making them not so much of an alternative for anyone who’s on a budget, and who isn’t on a budget? More and more of the things we at are being affected by the weather and the result is we’re paying higher prices at the store.

Of course, it would be insensitive of me to not mention that at least we can get to food. There are still millions upon millions of people around the world for whom food is a pipe dream. They keep hoping for relief and each day their hopes are dashed. The problem isn’t so much a lack of food, but a lack of desire to solve the fucking problem. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, billionaires could eliminate hunger completely by 2030. They just have zero motivation to do so.

There is no sunshine today, only gray. This has taken long enough that I can take more pain meds now. Maybe I’ll be able to sleep. I’m not expecting anything to be any better later in the day, though. Why would it? Life is little more than a string of pain punctuated by disappointment.

Cancer Update / Current Issues / Morning Update / Personal

Morning Update: 04/02/24

April 2, 2024

After waiting all fucking day, putting off things we might have gotten done, it finally started raining around 11:00 last night and it has yet to stop. I just took the dogs outside. The yard is a swamp. Up the road from us, a lake has formed. I feel especially sorry for G who has to walk the quarter-mile to his bus stop in a few minutes. Thunder still rolls across the night sky.

I’m not sure how much sleep any of us got last night. Kat was up for most of it. G was up at 12 and 3, finally giving up around 5. I was able to at least stay in bed, dozing in and out. All the meds weren’t enough to induce sleep through all the pain. In a battle of arthritis vs. chemo, arthritis is definitely winning. Let’s set that pain level firmly at 10 and hope that it doesn’t go any higher. Tomorrow, it turns cold again. I feel like the weather has a personal vendetta against me.

We’re still 10-15 days from having any money in the account, assuming Social Security actually comes through. I don’t have any amount of faith in the system. We’re out of bread, margarine, and milk. I’m cutting back on coffee because that’s getting low as well. It’s not that we’re out of food, but that the food requires the addition of certain staples to be prepared and we don’t have the staples. The dogs will need food by the end of the week as well. This level of need is hurting almost as much as the arthritis. Right now, 10-15 days might as well be forever.

I feel really bad sending G out in the storm. If I still had a car I could at least take him to the bus stop. But no, not only can I do little to help myself, I can’t help anyone else, either. We’re hoping that Tipper’s bus shows up on time today. Yesterday, all the buses from her school were late because, get ready for this, the bus company didn’t know that school was starting back after spring break. How is that even possible? I’m sure they were given the same schedule as the rest of us.

Remember when things like this didn’t annoy us? We could play out in the rain and have a good time! Getting soaking wet was part of the fun. Now, I sit here still shivering from having taken the dogs out 30 minutes ago. This whole aging thing is for the birds.

I can take more meds again in an hour. At least I’m still alive, right?

Holidays / Morning Update / Personal

Morning Update: 03/31/24

March 31, 2024

Happy Easter & Trans Day of Visibility

Ready, Set, Spring [2007 original photo with AI background]

Yesterday was not a good brain day. I try to have one additional post every day so that you don’t look over at the list of recent posts and see a string of Morning Updates. That wasn’t possible yesterday. My brain could not complete something as simple as sharing a YouTube video. There was no solid cognition. I’d read something and the content would immediately be gone. I’d watch a video and have no idea what I’d just watched. I baked chicken drumsticks for dinner and forgot to add any seasoning (we still ate them). I forgot to put my phone on the charger before going to bed. The dogs did remind me to take them outside, so that was done, but I can’t claim any other completed objective for the day.

In fact, yesterday was such a bad-brain day that I almost considered running for president. 🤣

Today isn’t starting off much better, just in a different way. It’s raining. The arthritis pain kicked in a little after 4:00 this morning. My overall pain level is sitting at an eight. There are still meds I can’t take until after I’ve eaten breakfast, but it still doesn’t bode well for the day. My typing is slow. I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have to play for anyone’s Easter service, not that I’ve been asked any time in the past 20 years. My fingers object to every move, the pressing of each key. I can only imagine what it would feel like if I had to use Poppa’s old manual typewriter to create this post!

I still find it incredible that there are people so fucking stupid that they think the President had anything to do with setting Trans Day of Visibility on the same day as Easter. I’ll say it again: Trans Day of Visibility is static: March 31 every year. Easter moves around: the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox, because you need a little paganism in your religious holiday. No politics in any of it. Get off your fucking stupid hobby horse.

There are no Easter baskets in our house this year. The kids aren’t remotely interested. Kat did get them both a chocolate bunny, which they’ve already devoured, but it wasn’t out of any religious commemoration; the bunnies were on sale. Yes, they do make sugar-free Easter chocolate, but you have to order it directly from Russel Stover two weeks in advance and there’s no discount. Besides, Russel Stover’s sugar-free chocolate gives me the runs.

We also won’t be having any big Easter dinner. I’m not sure we ever have, though I can’t remember any past Easters with any level of detail. Kat’s with Brandon’s family and even if we had the money the kids aren’t interested in dining out. So, leftovers it is.

My hands want nothing more than to stay balled up into fists. We’ll see if I post anything else later. Thanks for reading.

Morning Update / Natural Light / Personal

Morning Update: 03/30/24

March 30, 2024

Having the kids on spring break for the past two weeks has given me a chance to sleep late, something I have very much enjoyed. That ends on Monday, of course, and I’m not looking forward to being up at 6:00 AM again. The extra sleep has made a significant difference in how I feel throughout the morning. It is especially appreciated on days like today when thunderstorms came through around 6:00 and rattled windows and the roof of the carport. My body needed to be lying down through that mess.

Two hours later, the skies are blue, I have coffee, and the twins (cats) are back to sleep after a rambunctious round of the zoomies. The kids are in G’s room trying to get Tipper signed in to the VR headset. This morning could get more interesting than normal.

I’m not expecting much else today. I’ll eat breakfast, take my meds, check up on the science news from the week, and take the weather changes as they come. I don’t think we’ll have more rain until early in the morning, but I’m not moving far from my bed just in case.

Boring, aren’t I?

I will say that the proof of who the GOP is can be found in the disgusting antics of their trolls. The comments have gotten so severe and so hurtful that Lizzo said last night that she’s ready to quit. She didn’t elaborate as to whether that means she’s quitting social media (maybe not a bad idea) or performing, or music altogether, which would be incredibly sad. She’s always had to endure mean comments about her appearance, but the nastiness has become increasingly severe. Are these bots that are insulting the singer? Possibly. And if they are, they’re probably from foreign sources. Still, real people are repeating the ugliness and sharing it across various networks. Do we really want people like that in charge of anything?

This is life for today. It’s been a lot worse. Boring isn’t all that bad, is it?

Art / Nature / Portrait

The Joys Of Nature

October 11, 2020

Even when the weather is cool and damp, a natural setting makes for great photographs

Carefully distanced photography isn’t always as easy as I want it to be. If I use a long lens, which allows me to keep sufficient distance between me and my subject, focusing takes longer and sometimes means missing a shot or two. If I use a shorter lens, which is necessary for certain angles, I may end up getting closer than I’d like. Finding that perfect balance remains elusive with every shoot we’ve done this fall.

No more so was that true than with this week’s set of photographs. Ashley, our model, is a friend. We’re accustomed to chatting back and forth as we shoot and proximity isn’t an issue. This shoot found us both being a lot more careful and quietly paying more attention to what the other was doing. The distance affected her choice of poses and as we focused on angles and light direction our conversation had less banter and more construction. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, mind you, but it is different.

Air temperature was a factor as well as the level of moisture. Neither of us need to be ill and running around in cool, damp air is a good way to catch something one doesn’t want. Despite waiting until afternoon to shoot, there was still a chill that kept us from being as comfortable as we would like. Copious amounts of petroleum jelly were put to use and still there were chill bumps to address in final production.

So dominant was the feeling that it was about to rain that we made it do so, in post production so it would actually show up in the photo. While I’m not big on spot color in a monochrome image, our natural production process pulled out the pink of the rain coat and I decided to run with that look. Yes, I could have stripped out all the color, but somehow the pictures feel better this way.

We’ve another set sitting in wait and we’ll show you those when the weather gets too uncooperative to shoot anything new. Ashley’s always an exciting model and spending time with a friend is an extra bonus.

[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id=”17334″ layout=”contain” columns=”3″]

As always, click on any of the thumbnails to view the image full screen. Enjoy!

Editorial / Nature / Photography

RIDING OUT THE STORM

July 21, 2019

As I’m writing this, most of the central and eastern US is suffering under a record-setting heatwave. I typically don’t shoot in heat like this at all, given the myriad problems that it presents both in terms of health and wardrobe. A week ago, though, it wasn’t quite so bad. Sure, it was warm, but that kind of comfortable Midwestern warmth with a gentle breeze that kept people from feeling as though they were stepping out into a giant oven.

We didn’t have anything scheduled so when model/photographer Shannon Young mentioned she was in the mood to shoot with herself as the model, I jumped at the opportunity. Mrs. Young is one of those young women who seems to do everything from wrangling children to creating and sewing original designs, painting, modeling, and hair and makeup. She is also a talented young photographer. We had been watching her work for quite a while but had not found a concept we were comfortable pitching to her.

After a short online conversation with Mrs. Young, I packed my camera and minimal tools and set off for Anderson, Indiana, a once booming town about an hour north of Indianapolis that, despite its manufacturing history, struggles to remain relevant. When I left home, the skies were blue and the sun was bright. As I left the Interstate and drove into Anderson, however, it was hit with a brief rain shower and clouds that didn’t seem to be in a hurry about going away. My assumption was that, as with most summer storms, once it stopped raining we would be safe.

Meeting Shannon was delightful and it wasn’t long before we were making our way down to a creek that we hoped would provide the perfect setting for a few swimwear shots. There’s no explanation why I’m so focused on swimwear this summer, it’s just one of those things I need to do to keep the crazy in check. The water was flowing a little faster than had been expected but the trees were aesthetically interesting and having the stream in the background still provided context even if she didn’t get wet.

Then, without much more than a second’s warning, the skies opened up and it began to pour. Hard. We took shelter under separate trees and waited. I had an umbrella in the van but, naturally, had left it there on the mistaken assumption that we were done with the rain. We stood there hoping that this would be a brief shower that would quickly go away. It wasn’t. 30 minutes later, the rain let up enough for us to risk walking back. We were both thoroughly soaked.

Shannon was not of the mind to simply give up, however, and after drying off a bit we decided to at least try a few black and white shots on the porch. The clouds were still rather heavy and dark, but that set up a dark, contemplative mood that reminded me just a bit of The Doors 1971 song, “Riders On The Storm.” [Okay, not so much the disturbing lyrics, but that E Dorian-toned melody that Jim Morrison wrote, giving the lyrics just the right amount of darkness.] By the time we dropped 50 or so frames on that set, the sun had decided to make another appearance. So we quickly ran over to the site of a demolished factory and took advantage of the ruins there, barely getting in another 50 frames before it began raining again.

Working with Mrs. Young was a pleasure and perhaps once this meteorological death grip eases up we can get together again and do a full shoot with all the nuances and creativity available. If that happens, we’ll be sure to post the results here. In the meantime, click on any of the thumbnails below to view the full-sized gallery.

[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id=”15395″ layout=”contain” columns=”3″]

Editorial / Nature

Along The Lake, After The Rain

June 2, 2019

For much of the Midwest, the past two weeks have involved seeking shelter from one storm after another. While our family has been spared any of the most severe incidents, we’ve watched, often horrified, as friends have had to leave their homes, unsure whether there would be anything to which they might return.

The day we shot these pictures was no exception. I had watched the weather forecast for days and was of the opinion that we had scheduled during the one brief window that would occur that morning. I arrived early and walked through the location, just in case the previous night’s weather had created any problems, and determining the best angles from which to shoot. While conditions were not optimal, I felt we could get some decent editorial shots done before either the sun was too high or more rain moved in.

Emily arrived a few minutes early, which is always impressive the first time we work with someone, but the very second she stepped from her car a heavy downpour hit, forcing us both to retreat. Fortunately, it didn’t last but about three minutes. Still, it was enough to alter the conditions for where we were shooting. There were puddles where there had been no puddles. Surfaces that had been dry were now wet and slippery.

The benefit was that shooting around natural elements gave a sense of freshness to everything. Okay, so the sun was in Emily’s eyes more than I would have liked. Even with all the squinting, there’s still a sense of newness to this late Spring morning.

Topping it all off, as we neared a sandy area of the lake, a lone duckling appeared from behind a fallen tree and swam near us the entire time, close enough to elicit smiles, far enough away to avoid capture.

As ferocious as some of the storms have been this week, there remains a beautiful peace afterward that provides the opportunity, if we take it, to regroup, examine our place on the planet, and hopefully see the beauty that remains.

Click on any of the thumbnails to see the gallery full screen.

[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id=”15123″ layout=”contain” columns=”3″]

Art / Photography

The Cleansing Power Of Water

August 27, 2017

As I’m writing this morning, rain is still pounding the Gulf coast as the remnants of Hurricane Harvey linger over Houston and other portions of the Deep South. This is not a new torture for this area. Every few years they endure almost exactly the same results from a differently named storm. Cities flood. Homes and businesses are destroyed. People die. Then, they rebuild.

Then, once the storm is gone they rebuild. They start over. Everything is brand new, hopefully stronger, better, and better able to withstand whatever comes next. The dirt and debris

The dirt and debris wash out with the tides. Gone. Nothing left but memories; some good ones, some bad ones. The process repeats itself irregularly. Somehow, the planet seems to know better than we do when a place needs a good scrubbing.

Water does a wonderful job of cleaning things up. We notice it when we step outside after a rain shower and smell the fresh fragrance of the air. We feel it for ourselves when we bathe. Water cleans us like nothing else.

Sometimes, though, we need a little more. A relationship ends. A job is lost. One’s world begins to crumble. Life needs to change but it is hampered by the debris of all that was.

So, one cleans up. Change houses. Change jobs. Change clothes. Shave your head. Start over.

The shower becomes a metaphor. Dark shadows of the past contrast with bright highlights of hope for the future. Steam rises off the skin, an endurance of momentary pain knowing that it is washing away all the negative energy and feelings from what once was. Water flows over the head, down the back, and into the drain taking with it all the ruin and debris.

Storms are difficult and frightening. Not everyone survives. Those who do, however, are stronger. Refreshed. Ready to move forward.

Such is the natural process of life on the planet earth.

[As always, click on any thumbnail below to open the full gallery.]

[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id=”11484″ layout=”contain” columns=”3″]

Current Issues / News & Comment / video

5 Things You Should Know: 01.10.17

January 10, 2017

04:35:57 01/10/2017

Sponsoring 5 Things You Should Know is easier than you think. We can do all the work. Just contact us for more information!

Relying on strength to get us through

Hey there, it’s Tuesday, one of the most awkward and challenging days of the week. We’re looking for some extra strength to get us through this one. A lot of people start getting sick this time of year and just going to the grocery store can mean coming home with something unexpected. The fluctuations in temperature don’t help any, either. We’ll talk more about weather in a bit, though. In the meantime, grab a tissue and maybe some tea with honey and lemon to get you through the day.

A lot of today’s news items are things that carry over from previous stories, as sometimes happens. The one big new thing this morning is that Clemson beat Alabama for the NCAA football championship, 35-33 with a last minute touchdown. From everything I’ve read this morning, it was a very exciting game. Personally, though, my pillow was more exciting. Oh, and hearings start today for the president-elect’s cabinet picks. I’m sure we’ll be talking about those later. For now, though, here are the 5 things you should know.

Rain that just won’t stop

We typically don’t think of January as the rainy season, but that’s definitely the way it’s shaping up for parts of the country. Locally, we’re looking at chances of rain, strong winds, and thunderstorms today through Thursday. We’ll be needing umbrellas and coats as we get out this week, but at least we’ll be in better shape than folks in Northern California and Nevada where another round of rain is making an already bad situation worse¹.

Rescue crews have their work cut out of them as parts of Northern California have gotten over a foot of rain in the past 72 hours, more than they typically see in an entire year. California has been suffering through a drought the past several years so they were initially glad to get the rain, but this is just too much! This is having a very widespread effect with even San Francisco issuing coastal flood warnings. In the Sierra Nevadas above 7,000 feet, four to eight more feet of snow are expected through Thursday. There just doesn’t seem to be any respite in this storm, and yes, we’ll all be paying for it somewhere along the line.

One of the regions hit hard by this storm is the Sonoma wine country². They’ve had over 13 inches of rain there since last Friday. Vineyards along River Road are completely submerged. Not only is this going to affect this year’s wine production, but also almonds and some tree-based crops. Trees weekend by the six-year drought have been toppling, including some large trees that were several hundred years old. With both the Sacremento and Russian rivers prone to flooding, officials are advising residents to stay home unless they need to move to higher ground for safety.

This won’t be confusing, will it?

In a move that I’m already finding confusing, Yahoo announced yesterday that it will be changing its name to Altaba and that CEO Melissa Mayer will be stepping down once the sale of the company to Verizon is complete⁴. Ms. Mayer’s departure is no big surprise. Verizon is paying some $4.83 billion dollars for the struggling company and Ms. Mayer’s inability to turn the company around is well documented. No one can really be surprised there. But the name change could be a problem.

Not that the company didn’t need a name change, mind you. While Yahoo! sounded all cute and friendly back in 1995 when people were still new to the Internet, now it seems silly and childish up against Google, Apple, and other tech giants. The problem I’m seeing with the name Altaba, though, is that it is way to close to Alibaba, the Chinese search engine-slash-tech giant that dominates the Internet across Asia much like Google does in the United States. In fact, Alibaba’s CEO was meeting with the president-elect just yesterday. Alibaba will own a minority share in the company at the end of the deal. No, that’s not going to get confusing quickly.

Now, while Verizon is continuing through with the deal, the whole thing could still be called off because of that huge hacking problem Yahoo announced last month. With some 1.5 billion user accounts compromised between two breaches last year, the full extent of the fallout has yet to be determined and Verizon has already said the second breach could end up being a deal breaker. I’m sure Ms. Mayer is hoping the deal can be completed quickly, though. She could really use a break.

Say goodbye, Mr. President

As the days of his administration wind down, President Obama makes his farewell address today in Chicago, where his political career started⁵. This isn’t going to be the easiest speech the president has ever made by any stretch of the imagination. Not only is it full of emotion, not only is he leaving with his popularity amazingly high, he still has to try and convince the American people that the country is going to survive the unqualified, ridiculous personality filling the office behind him.

President Obama told the Associated Press that he has learned two primary lessons over the past eight years: That Americans are fundamentally good, and that change can happen. “The system will respond to ordinary people coming together to try to move the country in a better direction,” he said. Of course, what he’s not saying there is that the system responded to his changes by electing an idiot with a spray tan.

The speech will, of course, contain a lot of reminiscing, looking back over the successes of the president’s administration and trying hard to gloss over some of failures, such as Guantanamo and Syria. His audience at McCormick Place will be friendly and supportive. I would imagine someone will be handing out tissue as people arrive. This is the sort of occasion where tears are expected. I don’t think there’s anything the president can say, though, that sufficiently calms the fears of progressives. 75 million people did not vote for the president-elect. Those 75 million and more are very concerned about our future.

Any exercise is good exercise

Not all of us have what it takes to exercise every day. In fact, the greater majority of us don’t have that kind of discipline. The majority of us do well if we get in a little fast-paced walking every once-in-a-while. That’s always been a problem as we’ve been told by our gym teachers in school and personal trainers that we need to be consistent for our exercise to have any benefits. A new study from George Washington University tells a different story, however. Any exercise is better than no exercise at all⁶.

Now, let’s be careful to listen to exactly what the study says. The dominant portion of the study is aimed at those so-called “weekend warriors” who can only get out and do things on Saturday and Sunday. For those people, the research says, their weekend adventures are almost as good at avoiding death as is daily exercise. While the official suggestion remains at 150 minutes of exercise a week, which is more than one can cram into a weekend, two days of vigorous exercise is almost as good.

What you should know, however, is that those who never get off the couch are in trouble. The same research shows that people whose lifestyles are completely sedated are cutting massive amounts of time, more than ten years in many cases, off their lifespans. Just getting up and taking a walk around the block, or around the mall, or being chased by a vicious poodle is better than nothing at all. You’re hurting yourself. Stop it.

And finally …

Take a look around you and see how many people are on their smartphones. Maybe you’re even reading or listening to this report on your phone. Now, stop and think about the fact that ten years ago this wouldn’t have been possible. Say “Happy Birthday” to the iPhone, the device that revolutionized the entire world in less than ten years⁷. That’s right, it was ten years ago the late Steve Jobs stood on a stage in San Francisco and said, “Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything.” I’m not sure even he understood just how revolutionary that product would be.

The iPhone was revolutionary in many ways. It had a 3.5-inch screen. You could use your hand to open these things called apps. And it even had a built-in web browser so you could access websites on the go. All those things that you take for granted now were new and different back then. The iPhone had something else that was new: a hefty price tag. Many industry insiders questioned whether we would pay anywhere from $600 and more for a cell phone. They did, in droves.

Immediately, the race was on for developers to create apps for smartphones and other players in the industry struggled to keep up with Apple’s new invention. When Google introduced the Andriod operating system a couple of years later, they managed to give the iPhone some competition, but by that point Apple was already dominating and controlling the market. Now, smartphones are the primary means of communication around the world. Steve Jobs would be pleased.

And that’s all we have time for today. Please be careful as you go about all the things you do in the course of a day. Take an umbrella in most places. Give someone a smile. We’ll keep watching the news and be back with five more things you should know in the morning.

Photography

Left Out In The Rain

April 30, 2016

Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby. —Langston Hughes

In the dreariness of a rainy day, we still find beauty, even in things others ignore

I hadn’t planned on doing a second article today, and trust me, this one will be short. I looked out the kitchen window this morning, though, and saw that the kids had left the tricycle out in the rain. Yes, they had been told to put it up, but, being six- and seven-years-old, they didn’t think it necessary to follow those instructions. If we’re honest, few if any of us followed those instructions when we were that age. My father actually backed over my first tricycle because I left it behind the car. Such is the nature of being a child.

While frustrated that, yet again, my instructions had not been followed, I found an odd beauty in the rain on the tricycle. There’s something about the water on the chrome and the metal, the tire in the mud, the drops falling off the pedals and handlebars, that struck me as interesting. So, I grabbed the camera, ran out quickly while it wasn’t raining too hard, and grabbed a few shots.

While processing the images I also thought of how we often leave people out in the rain, so to speak. We enjoy them while they’re being fun and useful, but when we’re done we just leave them out where ever. We don’t bother to see that they’re safe, or happy. We don’t bother to think whether they might be lonely or in need of a friend.

We view too many people the same way children view toys: expendable. Children don’t typically worry about their toys because they assume that Mommy and Daddy will buy them new ones, even though that assumption is likely wrong. In similar fashion, we do the same thing to people we casually meet. We assume that the server at the restaurant, or the floor person at the department store, or the cashier at the grocery, are all expendable so it doesn’t matter how we treat them. Their feelings don’t matter. I’ve seen some treated as though they’re barely even human. We, effectively, leave them out in the rain, discarded without a thought, just assuming they’ll be there the next time we need them.

I’ve felt left out in the rain before. Perhaps you have, too. If so, perhaps you’ll understand the emotion behind these pictures.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Current Issues / PotD / science

Water That Is Safe

April 21, 2016

Rivers, ponds, lakes, and streams – they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do – they all contain truths. —Muhammad Ali

Water is the very essence of life, but is it ever safe to drink?

I was standing outside with the Tipster this morning waiting on her bus in the rain. As we stood there, huddled under my umbrella, she noticed the water running off the side. Being the silly little six-year-old that she is, she tipped her head back so that the top of her head was exposed to the rain.

“What are you doing?” I asked in a rather incredulous tone. As with many six-year-olds, getting her ready for school this morning was a trying set of circumstances and I really wasn’t in the mood for nonsense.

“I’m drinking the rain off the umbrella,” she giggled.

I pulled her back up under the umbrella with a warning, “You don’t want to do that.”

She’s six. She’s not going to let a statement like that go unchallenged. So, naturally, her response was, “Why?”

What came out of my mouth was, “Because the cats have been all over it,” which is a cop-out because the cats have been all over everything in our house. What I really meant, though, was something more like, “I have no idea what the Ph balance of the rainwater here is and given all the manufacturing on this side of town I’m not sure any of the rainwater is safe without some form of filtering.” That version would have gone right over her little head, though. Cats are much more relatable.

If you’ve driven around Indianapolis lately, you’ve probably seen the billboards and/or heard the radio ads from Citizens Energy, the company that manages and oversees the Indianapolis water supply. The ad campaign has been an attempt to garner public support and understanding for a proposed rate increase to water bills in the areas that Citizens covers. The situation, as presented by Citizens, sounds dier. Some pipes are over 100 years old and much of the original infrastructure is crumbling. Replacing all those pipes is expensive. The plan worked. Yesterday, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) approved a rate hike that will increase the average residential water bill by $5 a month starting in May.

The rate hike doesn’t actually ensure that the water we receive through our taps is any cleaner when it leaves the treatment facility, but that it’s less likely to be contaminated between there and your home. In short, what the rate hike does is help prevent Indianapolis and the surrounding areas from experiencing a water disaster like what happened with Flint, Michigan. Clean water passing through aging pipes is about as dangerous as, well, drinking water falling off an umbrella. All manners of nasty chemicals leach into the water supply with no means of control.

As Americans, we take the quality and ubiquity of our water supply for granted. Almost everyone alive today has grown up with running water. We are accustomed to turning a knob and having the water flow at quantities and pressures we could take for granted. That’s why Flint’s water crisis was so alarming. We, as a general populace, weren’t even aware that such a disaster could happen.

Scientist and climatologists have been warning us for years, though, that our supply of drinking water is becoming increasingly unsafe. As with most matters of earth science, no one wants to listen. The stories are of gradual decline, of a slow erosion that isn’t necessarily evident every time one looks out the window. In 1990, the Acid Rain Program was created as part of the Clean Air Act, but corporate and industrial opposition to the limits established by those laws has been severe and through continued lobbying the laws have been diminished to the point they’re hardly recognizable.

Keeping our drinking water clean is neither cheap nor easy. Earlier this month, Citizens was happy to announce that, “… drinking water produced at all of the utility’s treatment plants is safe …” but that announcement didn’t come until after the Environmental Protection Agency proposed adding an area downtown to its list of superfund sites. Being on this list allows federal funds to be used in cleaning up the area. Two of Citizens’ wellfield areas, along Riverside and 16th streets, would be included in that cleanup. Until then, anything from those wellfields has to go through extra treatment before it’s ready to be consumed.

Spring is deceptive in its ability to make everything look so clean and pure. We just assume that what we drink and sprinkle over our gardens is healthy and safe. A major effort is required to keep us as safe as we think we are, though, and your Indiana state legislature isn’t helping any. Bills attempting to eliminate or significantly limit the EPA’s rules, especially those regarding groundwater, are frequently introduced and there is a vocal lobbying effort to prohibit all EPA legislation completely.

As beautiful a state as Indiana could be, you’d think we’d value our natural resources more and want to keep them clean, but apparently that’s not necessarily the case across the board. Some would rather indulge the continued dumping of raw sewage and spew horrible chemicals into the air. What may seem harmless to some, eventually impacts us all. Rain eventually falls and little girls try to drink the rain from their umbrellas.

You would think such an act would be innocent and safe. It should be.

Art / PotD

Falling Leaves

October 29, 2015

Autumn Illusion – Falling Leaves

The falling leaves drift by my window. The falling leaves of red and gold. I see your lips, the summer kisses. The sunburned hands I used to hold.—Johnny Mercer

[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Autumn doesn’t mess around once it finally decides to do its thing. Only a week ago, I was able to take pictures of brightly colored trees in the neighborhood, their leaves golden and resplendent in the sunlight. I looked at the giant oak across the street yesterday afternoon and its branches now are nearly bare; a yellow blanket covers the ground around it’s dark trunk.

There are still several hours before sunrise as I write this, so I can only imagine even more leaves are down this morning. Wind howled by my bedroom window all night. Some gusts were strong enough to shake the entire house. Any leaves still on trees this morning are brave souls hanging on to futility; they, too, will fall. A horizon of dark, grey, nothingness is all nature has left us. Those not already prepared for winter had best hurry.

We keep saying we’re going to cover our windows with plastic to help keep out the encroaching cold. We’ve said that the past two winters as well; it hasn’t happened, yet. Like those leaves that still cling desperately to tree branches, we never really want to give in to the fact that winter is coming. We use the excuse of needing to wait for “Indian Summer,” and then find some other reason after that. We really don’t want to cover the windows; we want to be able to see.[/one_half]

[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Falling leaves are nature’s definitive statement on change. There’s no fudging the line as to whether the season is here or not. Summer’s out the window, winter is knocking at the door, and Autumn is doing its best to give us some kind of buffer so that we’re not still running around half-naked trying to find a way to heat the swimming pool when snow starts flying.

Neither is there any compromise on the plants in our garden. Harvest is done, even if there is one little orange-colored tomato still hanging on for dear life. We’ll leave that for the birds, or perhaps the neighborhood raccoon.

Relationships change, too. We instinctively recognize the need to gather close, to have someone with which to huddle and keep us warm through the winter. Even where there are no drunken Halloween parties to help, couples still manage to find each other lest they freeze alone in their beds. Besides, we need someone to help us rake all those damn leaves in the yard, going from yellow to brown.

There is no putting the leaves back on the trees once they’ve fallen. Brace for impact. Winter is coming.[/one_half_last]