I’m writing frm the relative comfort of a parking lot in beautiful poughkeepsie NY. I’m down here for a 25th work anniversary party for my good friend bruce . It’s amazing that I know folks (like me) who’ve had the same job for a quarter century or more.. I couldn’t not come..

GIven that I spent most of the day in the car coming down..a nd on th e phone.. not much new to report here. I have a few pictures from the last couple of days.. lemme see what they are..

Ahh. heres a cool Hawk I saw on my way to work yesterday.. .. I actually turned the car around and went back to watch this guy.. so regal.. so cool.. and so tiny in my crappy camera..

Hmm.. what else.. ah..   I spied this cool hadline that made me feel noble..

Then last night we were up at Bolton for Gabe’s night riders competition.. he had a great night..

Oh waut, here’s a good story.. I got home last night after Gabes competition and found a box from Sparkfun. my favorite electronics company . Those who read this blog might remember my description of  ‘Free Day‘..  where the copmany gave away 100,000 dollars of parts to their customers   .. 100 bucks to each !  to thank them for a good couple of years. The deal was first come, first serve.. I tried to get my order in from the oepneing bell.. but due to the huge number of folks also trying to order, my order never got through. I was dissapointed that my order didnt get through.. ut I wrote them a nice letter anyway tellign them how cool i thought they were for giving stuff away lke that..

Well.. my ever loving mother saaw the post.. and being the sweet person she is, didn’t want to see me dissapointed.. so .. she called Sparkfun the next day and poitned them at my blog post. And they figured out form there what i was trying to order (parts for a talking blood alchohol meter I want to build.. don’t ask)  .. then Mom ordered the parts for me.. isn’t that awesome..

Thanks Mom .. I love you !  You are amazing..

Today.. was pretty ok.. crammed work meetings in morning .. then beutiful sunny drive dwon in the afternoon.. also crammed with phone meetings.. On my way out I drove by Markowskis and saw the Time cycle lookign regal and cold..

Then treated myself to a trip on the new makeshift feerry near the site of the old Crown Point bridge.. You could still see the chunks of the now demolished brudge

It was a quicl 10 minute boat ride.. they’v e amnaged to keep the ice clear fro the salvage, so the ferrys run 24 hours a day.. how cool to be on a boat on a bluebird day like this..

They actually have 2 ferrys .. one going each direction.. it looks like it’s been there for years.. but I think it’s been there only a month.

OK.. 7PM.. time to go inside. and see bruce.. More tomorrow.

Nite all. nite Sam
-me

So .. I understand that Puxatawny Phil came out and saw his shadow.. six more weeks of winter. Actually.. in vermont.. it’s 6 months more winter shadow or no shadow. But I like the idea of looking for minor portents like this to guide our lives. The Romans saw thing ins the entrails of chickens .. A sa  kid I remember measuring the bands on caterpillars to gauge the length of winter.. .. and I grew up in a place that had no winter.   Supposedly animals can predict a coming earthquake.. or a change in the weather. Some say they can sense death coming.
   I just had dinner with my friend Perry who told me that the country/city of Singapore has a school of fish that live in their municipal water supply.. when the fish start acting funny, it’s time to change to Perrier.   He even told me thta some company is building chips that place trainde paramicium (single cell animals) in little cells and electrically measure their cilia (the moving threads they have) to measure contents of the water.. I don’t know about that.. I want my paramecium to be ‘free range’
   The idea of predicting the future based on a shadow is really not so odd to me.. I’ve been seeing signs like that since I was a kid.. I could not go home after seeing 3 piddidles (one eyed cars).. I once drove around for hours looking for a fourth. A phone call that was begun on an uneven minute would never go well. The number 911 (yes 911) meant good luck, 411 meant not so good luck.. , 511 meant company.. 709 was dangerous.. though I think that was because that was the course number of a  difficult  but very good linear systems class I took in grad school.
    I think I just saw my shadow.. That means time for bed..

Gnite all. nite Sam
-me

The thrid installement of Tim and my Smarter Planet youtube series came out last night.. This one is on smarter water.. We made it in late December at the spur of the moment. I love the animations… me as vanna white.. I just love that !

Take a look and let me know what you think 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT16dE-ilAE

So…    today Diane brought home a New York Times.. .. a real, black and white think old school newspaper with ink that came off on your hands as you read it.. I sat back and read through the front page, the op-eds , the wedding page.. the obits…. even the fashion page..

– I read the obit of a guy who looked just like me.. who taught English for 40 years .. and was every kids favorite teacher.

-I learned that Obama is really struggling with public opinion.. 

-I learned that people only use an average of 5 apps on their Iphones

-I read about how Ted Kennedy’s senate seat went to a republican,

-I learned that JD. Salinger.. one of my heroes.. died this week…

-I learned that Apple announced their new Pad device.. and .. opinions are mixed..

-I learned that the 9/11 terrorists are going to be tried somewhere other than NYC..

So many things I learned in that one paper. I know it sounds strange.. because I’m so   much out there in the world.. but since Sam’s passing I just do not read or listen to news. Diane and I were talking about it today. I stopped taking in news because I just could’t integrate strangers pain . I fund when I heard of soemone elses tragedy.. it belnded with my own. I couldn’t separate.. so .. I just stopped listening and reading.. for more than three years, I’ve avoided tv, newspapers, magazines.. I even walk away when I here folks discussing the news,..

Can  I keep that up ? Should I  ?   I guess I need to decide..

nite folks, nite Sam
-me