Eisenhower and Troops
65 Years ago today Tammy’s grandfather, along with many other brave American, British and Canadian men stormed Fortress Europe through the shores of Normandy. On D-Day her Daniel Holoviak was on the beaches leading his platoon. He survived that day (many didn’t), but only a few days later was run over by a tank. He survived that too, but was hospitalized in England where he spent the remainder of the war recovering and then working in the rear. ]]>
Char was my yoga instructor. She worked with me for four years to help me regain a normal posture and learn how to walk normally again. She could see how much pain I was in. It was the worst physical pain I have ever experienced. On a day that I was feeling particularly discouraged, she gave me this poem.
She was like a surrogate mother to me, but she died before I could ask her all those questions about life that come up as you make your way through your 30s and 40s and beyond. I like to think she’s my guardian angel now and that she made sure I found this poem again on a day that I needed to be reminded of it.
The Invitation
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.
I doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow. If you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own. If you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself. If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day. And if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”
It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
]]>Outlook -> Apple Mail/Address Book:
- Install Eudora 6.x/7.x on XP, import files from Outlook (mailboxes, contacts & settings)
- Find eudora files (generally c:\documents and settings\user\Application Data\Qualcomm\Eudora)
- Beware issue about attachments and parts
- Drop Eudora folder onto Eudora Mailbox Cleaner
- In Mail.app repair all the mailboxes
- Done.
For the Harmony Remote, set up the DishNetwork box to never turn off from the remote.
Technicians who come anywhere within 10 feet of a network or broadband drop to a house should recognize if their device requires a crossover cable to attach to a home router. Said tech should recognize that a cable is or is not a crossover when they test it with a network cable tester, or read the cable jacket which clearly says: 568A/568B which indicates a crossover.
]]>I’ve acquired new skills. I taught myself how to cut Johann’s hair from a book. I’ve been cutting his hair for over a year now and no one can tell. I learned how to bake bread. Now that is the only bread we regularly eat. Eric has gotten very creative using his knowledge in woodworking and home repairs. He also made a CO2 system for the fish tanks, which saved us hundreds of dollars.
Our latest problem to solve was how to cool the fish tanks for the summer. With the temperature rising, we had to figure out how to maintain our tanks between 76 and 80 degrees. The easy way is to keep the air conditioner on higher, but that obviously comes at quite an expense. The other obvious option is to buy one of the cooling systems we’d seen advertised, but that would cost us at least $200. plus the cost of the electricity to run the coolers.
Eric wanted to add filtered water ice cubes to the tank. That was a good idea, but I had reservations. We needed to reduce the temperature at least 3 degrees, ideally more, to keep the temperature within our ideal range. A 20% water change with cooler water will do that for a short time, but not a couple of ice cubes. I was also worried about diluting the salts and disturbing the chemical balance of the water. And at some point too many melted ice cubes could cause an overflow.
I asked Eric about cooling the air around the tank. Eric said the water absorbs the heat from the outer air temperature, but will hold it longer. How was I planning to do it? Cooling the air would work, but he was worried I was going to turn up the AC. I was thinking about the ice packs in the freezer and all the extra ones we had in the attic. Eric was very skeptical. I said that you don’t know until you try.
I could hear his eyes rolling in his head as I put the first batch of ice packs touching the back of each fish tank. I waited about an hour and then took the water temperature. One ice pack reduced the temperature 2 degrees! Eric took the temperature himself, but then had to admit that it worked. Two ice packs on each tank did the trick. We were even able to set the thermostat a few degrees warmer.
So now we are changing the ice packs when we turn the lights on in the morning and again at night when the lights go off. But I like how we saved that $200. and were able to keep the fish from cooking in their tanks from the summer heat.
]]>Oh, and in related news… it’s official, Connecticut has the highest average gas price in the nation @ $4.21/gal. Yep, CT. has higher gas prices than Alaska, California or Hawaii! The good news is maybe the increasing pain will create genuine change?
]]>Since today is the more widely recognized day though… a few quick quotes / links
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtfully committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
Rick MacPherson of Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice & Sunsets will be joining Kevin Zelnio of The Other 95% and Deep Sea News, Jason Robertshaw of Cephalopodcast and Karen James of The Beagle Project Blog for part of a 24 hour long conversation about the health of our planet. Their segment starts at 2200 GMT (that’s 6pm EST).
Thanks Rick for the book. Arrived safe and sound! Very beautiful too!
Highly recommended for all!
A few other links for your perusal this morning:
The Times Magazine Green Issue
Hattips go out to Rick, Kevin and Sheril
Update: Johann was sorta captured at the event playing football with some of the undergrads from school
It’s definitely getting cold around here! Right now it’s 32˚ with a 15mph wind, so it feels like 20°. Johann had to break out the hat, booties and wristwarmers for Ring, the latest addition to his animal menagerie. Ring was inspired by Mike Lee’s Club Thievery. We missed the original offer, but we made a donation to the Madigascar Fauna Group on our own and bought Ring Tailed Lemur
It’s great since we could help one of Johann’s absolute favorite animals and get him a new stuffed animal at the same time (which naturally he loves).
]]>That state of mind lasted for the first week Eric was home. He wanted to keep wearing shorts and sandals like he did in Belize, never mind that snow was on the ground. He went out to the grocery store to buy coconuts, bananas, and tropical fruit juices. He’s only wanted to listen to the reggae and Caribbean music we have. The funny thing is that I understand. I’ve traveled to places that have affected me the same way.
Johann has enjoyed fresh coconut and coconut water. He now has more coconut shells to play with as instruments or boats in the bathtub. He and Eric have been floating them in the water while shining the underwater flashlight through the ripples in the bathwater, creating water reflections on the walls and ceiling. Johann is going around the house singing Bob Marley songs. We hung up the wooden tropical saltwater fish mobile with chimes that Eric bought. Eric lamented that since he can’t buy Belikins here, he had to go out and buy some Coronas to drink. Johann piped up and said, “What? You’re going to drink some PELICANS, Daddy?”, followed by his infectious laugh. So Eric is slowly readjusting to the reality of our life in Connecticut and we’ve reached a new state of abnormal with Belizean flare. Don’t worry, be happy, man!
A Leprechaun for St. Patrick’s Day
Each night now we can hear the pipers practicing at the Harp and Hound for Sunday’s parade. Although this image is not from last years parade, I thought it appropriate — especially considering the forecast for Sunday includes snow! We may all be bundled like this Leprechaun, but we will be there!
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Winter’s not through with us yet!
Snow started falling lightly around 4:30pm. Just a very light dusting.
Looked out the window at 6:30 and it was coming down at a rate of 1–2″ per hour. It still hasn’t let up. The foreasts are conflicting. Anything from 4–6″ by morning to 12–18″ by morning depends on who you believe. Considering the way it’s coming down though I think we’re in for the bigger amount. Continued forecasts are also mixed, although all seem to agree that we have continued chance of snow through Thursday morning.
Johann has been shouting “Three feet of snow! Three feet of snow!” of course his big plan is to get snowed in and then build snow tunnels to the toy store, the yarn store and the park.
Update: 3/1 07:30am
Looks like we got about 5–6″ last night, but guess what…here it comes again! Got to love these Nor’Easters. This band of snow they are predicting another 2–3″ for Groton and Mystic.
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