4th of July - Camping, Deer Babies, Wake Boarding

-
Image
We have had a new resident. Actually there several new residents. A deer decided to have her kids in the back yard. They are here often. I can see them from my Zoom Room, so I apologize if I seem a little distracted sometimes when I am on a video call. We went canoeing and camping in South Carolina. We were exploring without a lot of planning, so you get what you expect- adventure and discovery. We stopped by the Tallulah Gorge lookout. When I rode my motorcycle through the area in the early 80's, I vowed I would come back. And I have come back-- again. I ate my traditional moon pie there as well. The Tesla is a great camper. Charge the battery, run the AC and enjoy the filtered ventilated with a nice entertainment system. Crazy. The paddleing wasnt that good. We found ourselves in Lake Keowee. The camp ground was good if you speak Spanish, and only enjoy power sports on small boats. I am a bit disturbed by the new trend of wake boarding. Instead of skiing being towed by a ro...
Post a Comment

Environmentalism and Earth Day

-

I remember the first "Earth Day" in 1970. I remember it well. I was in third-grade at Oakview Neighborhood School in West Irondequit, NY. We had energized school lessons regarding care for the environment and there was a common thread in our cultural changes that we all need to care more about nature and ourselves. There was almost no opposing dialog. We had seen large fish kills, weird colored skys, and bodies of water we wouldn't even think about swimning in, including Lake Ontario. This was almost 10 years before the awakening of "love canal" in nearby Nigagra Falls NY. Generally, in 1970 the dialog was about polution and what we can do to reduce polution. Polution consisted of many things, trash along the highways, untreated sewage and industrial dumping and runoffs. Don't forget about sound polution, also part of the polution spectrum. We were also significantly concerned about needlessly cutting of trees and wasting paper.

Since 1970 we have made great progress in reclaiming polluted waters and land. Better and more importantly, it is very difficult to get the water and lands poluted in the first place.

I find our attitudes very interesting in that a hundred years ago, before the first earth day we had a cultural thinking that we could not control mother nature. She was so big and grand that no matter what we did to her she would heal or somehow deal with whatever we threw her. Today as we pass more than 50 years of earth days we have an opposite view. Nowadays, we are culturally convinced that almost all of our actions impact mother nature. We were (a century ago) as a human race smaller than nature. Today we think we are much bigger than nature. This is a dangerous stance. We need to remember our failures of arrogance, unsinkable ships and the like.

Today, paper is "sustainable", enjoy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Commercial Items Identified on my Commute

-
Image
I see a lot of interesting commercialitems on truck on I-75. When you make the commute many times you start to see the same items over and over again. Sometimes it is huge equipment tires, sometimes heavy equipment of different types. I see these huge blocks of aluminum going North. I think about what the mill must look like and where it is going. And how much aluminum foil a block like this will make. Using the Tesla Full Self-Driving (supervised) allows me to look for these things on the highway. The FSD also helps me through the crazy stop and goes. Easily over 70MPH and then sudden traffic at dead stops, frequently. I see accidents every trip. It is amazing there aren't more. A side note- aluminum foil has a shiny side and a dull side. The reason why is that the foil is folded as it goes through massive rollers. The shiny side is the side that faces the steel roller. The dull side faces itself - aluminum.
Read more

Ditches, Vents and Drains

-
Image
Beautiful morning on the lake. I needed to put some vents in the basement. It's never about just one thing. The vents through the brick was one thing. Getting a window well to allow proper airflow and a drain to ensure the window well doesn't fill with water are other things. I had some fun with my bobcat and digging in the dirt. I am glad its over. We went out to dinner at the American Legion Post in the neighborhood. It only made sense to drive my M998 and pose next to the tank. The humvee has been my grocery-getter lately.
Read more

Knives and Septic Systems

-
Image
I went to the largest knife show anywhere. It was in Atlanta. https://bladeshow.com/home/ It's not like I am crazy about knives. I am however, interested in intense human efforts and world class passion in particular areas. I find myself having very involved discussions with folks that are sharing their passion and expertise. I met with folks about knife making from the US and Western Europe of course, but also South Africa, Finland, Australia. It's a effective and pleasant way to learn. I had an issue (sewer pipe was broken by my stump grinder) with the septic system here in Duluth. Of course, I had to ask lots of questions and do inspections and assessments myself. Septic technology is interesting. Nothing to be scared about and although the technology is ancient and sometimes unplesant there is a lot to know. https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=B1421&title=a-beginners-guide-to-septic-systems Having that knowledge is especially important if you...
Read more