Chazd's (Charles Dowdell's) News Burps

I went to the Salvation Army the other night, both for donation and shopping. It was a refreshing experience around the holidays. It was illuminating seeing all the clothes and stuff that had been donated. There was a lot of stuff to be sure. It helped me remember and put in place all the excess of our society. People today get what they need not what they want. I know it doesn't always seem like that all the time, but the fact of the matter is that our society is very affluent and is excessive even at the Salvation Army. It was quite nice to see the efforts of folks trying to better themselves and the facilitation of goodwill without a single "Merry Christmas" or item of the commercial blitz that begets the normal holiday culture of which we are all immersed. Christmas in Antarctica helped me see the overload we are subjected to in our normal lives.

My website was down for a couple of days. My domain registration lapsed; Yikes! I had changed email addresses and I forgot I had a a different domain registrar than the hosting company and I didn't update my email address with the registrar. Well, after I got the name servers figured out it was back. It has been cold out. It got down to zero the other night. DJ and I went for walk in the full-moonlight the other evening. It was cold. We saw shooting stars. One looked like it was only a few thousand feet away! It looked more like fireworks than a shooting star. It was close! I guess shooting stars have to land somewhere; why not Berkshire? The flame went out before it hit the ground, but it wasn't that high up. Dress for the cold and it is a lot of fun outside this time of year. There is a lot to see and it helps keep you grounded on your natural environment. The mean rooster went for a ride recently. He was dubbed "Roto-Rooster". The idealic winter scene is the ...