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When Being Green Makes You Blue: Global Warming

22 Apr

Today is Earth Day; a day set aside to review and speculate about our conservation efforts and to show support for those initiatives designed to preserve the natural functioning of our planet and promote activities to reduce our “footprint” on its ecological well being.

Anyone who has been reading my work knows that being ecologically conscious is important to me; I endorse reducing waste, support recycling to conserve resources and reduce landfill clutter.  My articles often encourage everyone to find ways to re-use their cast-offs by selling or donating things they don’t want to those who do. 

We designed our home to be as energy efficient as we could make it – within our means. We are growing a good portion of our food, and doing so without herbicides and pesticides. And I try to share what I learn about all this with you; my Dear Readers. Read the rest of this entry »

 
2 Comments

Posted in Prattlings

 

Book Review: Alien Empire

19 Apr

Alien Empire, by Anthony Gillis, is an interesting read that disappoints in only one way.

Alien Empire: The Story

The central character is history professor, Haral Karden, who specializes in first contacts between cultures.  When a fleet of alien ships appears at the edge of the solar system, heading inward, he is included in a group of leaders who are assembled to greet them.

Upon their arrival, the ambassador for The Elders; an ancient, spacefaring race,  tells the world of The Galactic Protectorate, where hundreds of thousands of worlds enjoy peace, plenty and prosperity.  He invites them to join this union of worlds and offers to share amazing Elder technology that will provide cheap clean power, improved manufacturing and brotherhood among the nations.

Politicians attempt to use the event to bolster their own power.  Much of the populace embraces the invitation.  Professor Karden asks himself, “What do they want in return.”

Together with a quirky pair of scientists, a manufacturing mogul, and a linguist, Karden answers that question, along with the related concern of “What happens if we decline?” and unwittingly set themselves up as leaders of a revolt. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted in Share the Love

 

Is Science Fiction Returning to Syfy?

13 Apr

science fiction, Childhood's End

Childhood’s End by David A. Ledwith

For true Science fiction fans, the Syfy channel has been a disappointment for a while now as it seems to have turned into The Paranormal Channel.  But it seems there is hope for them yet.

On Monday April 15th, the premier of Defiance will air.  If you’ve been living in a deep cave somewhere and are unaware of Defiance, this is a post-invasion/apocalypse story about a group of survivors manning a resistance base in St Louis fighting back against the aliens who have practically destroyed the earth.  OK, not exactly an original story line, but what makes this one different (aside from the promise of some outstanding special effects) is the fact that the TV series is to be tied to the video game and (eventually) top players in the game will be helping to steer the show’s progress.  This will either become a ground-breaking multi-media tie-in or the most shameless video-game promotion ever.  I suspect the latter, but I’m willing to give it a chance. More on Defiance is available here: http://www.defiance.com/

In addition, Syfy has several other promising science fiction projects in the works: (Most of the following was gleaned from io9.com)  Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Posted in Share the Love

 

A Blog With No Name

12 Apr

A few people (mostly young people) have asked me about the tag line/name I’m using for this blog.  In case you missed it, it’s Writing Through the Desert on a Blog with No Name.  What in the world does THAT mean?   Those in my age bracket will most likely get the reference.  For the Paduans among us, it’s a reference to an old song; one of my favorites.  Perhaps this will help clear things up – just for fun.

America: A Horse With No Name

Songwriters: BUNNELL, DEWEY
On the first part of the journey,
I was looking at all the life.
There were plants and birds. and rocks and things,
There was sand and hills and rings.
The first thing I met, was a fly with a buzz,
And the sky, with no clouds.
The heat was hot, and the ground was dry,
But the air was full of sound.I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name,
It felt good to be out of the rain.
In the desert you can remember your name,
‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain.
La, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la
La, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la
After two days, in the desert sun,
My skin began to turn red.
After three days, in the desert fun,
I was looking at a river bed.
And the story it told, of a river that flowed,
Made me sad to think it was dead.
You see I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name,
It felt good to be out of the rain.
In the desert you can remember your name,
‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain.
La la, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la
La la, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la
After nine days, I let the horse run free,
‘Cause the desert had turned to sea.
There were plants and birds, and rocks and things,
There was sand and hills and rings.
The ocean is a desert, with it’s life underground,
And a perfect disguise above.
Under the cities lies, a heart made of ground,
But the humans will give no love.
You see I’ve been through the desert on a horse with no name,
It felt good to be out of the rain.
In the desert you can remember your name,
‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain.La la, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la
La la, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la
La la, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la
La la, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la
La, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la
La la, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la
La, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la
La la, la, la la la la, la la la, la, la
 
11 Comments

Posted in Prattlings

 

Planting Potatoes

07 Apr
4/1/2013 3:39:35 PM  at Grit Magazine

I spent most of the day yesterday putting in my potatoes. Well… half of my taters. I planted two boSetting Spuds 1xes in Yukon Gold as my early crop. Next month I will plant another two boxes in Russets as my main crop.  But before planting them I had to get the boxes ready.

To hold taters I need a double-depth box (2 2×8’s stacked) that I fill half-way with soil. To do this I have bottomless boxes that are used as the second level and are held in place on top of a regular box with pocket hole screws.  These screws can be backed out and the second level moved from box to box as I rotate crops each year.  I mixed 1½ pounds of composted chicken manure into the soil of each box to enrich the soil.

 

Read more: http://www.grit.com/blogs/blog.aspx?blogid=4294967471#ixzz2PmMgstRa

 
13 Comments

Posted in Prattlings

 

The Old Homestead: Life in the Mountains

05 Apr

Living in a semi-remote mountain area is a mixed blessing.

I call it a ‘blessing’ because it is primarily a good thing. It is for us at least. The beauty and grandeur of The Great Smoky Mountains region is breath taking. Especially at this time of year. The peaceful serenity here is blissful. And the people in these parts are truly the salt of the earth. Mostly descendent from Scotch-Irish immigrants who settled here during pre-civil war times, they have their quirks and peculiarities – like any one. They’re ‘Mountain Folk’ from way back. They have their own way of doing things and thinking about things. But if you take a little time to get to know them and don’t come in determined to “reform” them over night, they’ll welcome you into the fold and be some of the best friends you could possibly want. Read the rest of this entry »

 
10 Comments

Posted in Prattlings

 

Prattle: Wireless Blondie

03 Apr

Mom’s House

I went down to check on my Mom this morning.  She lives in her own house on the property my wife and I own and live on.  It’s a whole lot more convenient to look in on her and help her out when she’s living a couple hundred feet away than when she was in Nebraska.  Normally I drop in on her mid-day with the mail, today I needed to follow up on yesterday’s excitement, so I went down first thing this morning. Read the rest of this entry »

 
4 Comments

Posted in Prattlings

 

Good Friday

29 Mar

Just as Jesus once slept peacefully in the stern of a boat while his disciples fussed and fretted over the raging storm, He also rested in a tomb as his followers dealt with a storm of confusion, disappointment and fear.  A day after his death, these emotions cycled endlessly through their minds.  Memories of the time they spent with him, planning and hoping for the new order they expected Him to lead them into played there too. Memories of what it felt like to walk upon a rolling sea, to feed five thousand people with the lunch of one small boy, to see Lazarus’s burial clothes left in the dirt, no longer needed.  No doubt they were heartsick with confusion.  What had gone wrong? Read the rest of this entry »

 
8 Comments

Posted in Matters of Faith

 

A Challenging Commute

23 Mar

Walking the TeamI arrived at work at 7:30 AM, following a grueling 150 foot commute.  The traffic was terrible.  Normally both dogs march along shoulder to shoulder at the ends of their leashes.  I tell Cochise, “Play yard,” or “Home” or “Mail box”, or (his least favorite) “Work” and he heads off in the right direction.  I tell Blondie, “Stay with Cochise” and she obediently strides along beside him wherever he goes.  Normally, but not today.  Today I’d started the pickup earlier to warm it up before Marie heads into town and her work and Blondie really, really wanted to go for a ride; so when we came down the steps she was intent on going that direction.  Cochise smelled something fascinating down in the yard and really, really wanted to go that way to check it out.  So they strained in opposite directions, neither one in the direction I needed to go.  We worked it out eventually, but it was a disorganized swirl instead of the usual orderly parade.

Read more:   What follows is a discussion of weather and gardening.
 
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Posted in Prattlings

 

Demon Among Us

22 Mar

By: Allan Douglas – Copyright 05/03/88

Who is he;
angel of salvation,
or angel of death?
He’s spent his whole life
as defender of the defenseless,
champion of the downtrodden,
crusader against injustice.

He is revered by his subjects.
They cheer when he rides by.
And yet, when he is alone,
separated and isolated by the walls of his room,
it is he who becomes the Dark Lord.
He is the demon from whom he has defended them for so long.

Each night the battle for supremacy rages on.
Each night the victor rises with a narrower margin.
He knows the night will come when there is no victor.
Each alter ego will quell the other
and he will cease to exist.

He will doubtless be acclaimed a martyr
for having met his doom
at the hands of some unnamed demon.
They will tell their tales, sing his praises,
and raise statues in his honor.

Yet they will never know the extent
of the evil that harbored among them.
Never know how many times
they looked into the face of death
and called it compassion.

* * * * *

 
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Posted in Creative Scribblings

 
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