Category: Uncategorized

Take a moment and remember those who died in service to our country.

ARLINGTON, VA – MAY 27: Mary McHugh mourns her dead fiance Sgt. James Regan at “Section 60” of the Arlington National Cemetery May 27, 2007.

Godspeed.

70F and 96%RH this morning. Pretty much the same as yesterday. It did finally rain a bit, mostly sprinkles late in the afternoon. The humidity makes it all so unpleasant as soon as you start doing some work. But that’s Houston, it’s a swamp.

Some interesting statistics about this place.

------------------------Visitors----Visits
Today:---------------------213---------462
Yesterday:-----------------613-------2,204
Last 7 Days (Week):------4,177------15,530
Last 30 Days (Month):---17,488------65,376
Last 365 Days (Year):--114,054-----588,394
Total:-----------------114,054-----588,394


Most days we see around 700 “unique” visitors, who come back multiple times. This has stayed pretty consistent for some time. Even on “slow” days we rarely see fewer than 500. There are about 300 people registered to comment (which is free and I encourage you to join the conversation!)

Thanks to you all for sticking around.

nick

added- sorry the numbers format-the site strips out whitespace

added- and also changes dash to emdash at random lengths.

Added by RickH

For those of you that like pictures…here’s the last 10 days. The last data point is  today, as of 1030am PDT. Click to embiggen.  (Also put a ‘code’ tag around the numbers to line things up.)

72F with 89%RH this morning. Yuck.

Spring has sprung in Houston. We are DEEP into tree pollen season. It irritates eyes and throats, and I’m finding a lot of people like me who get sleepy and lethargic as symptoms too. Everything is covered in fine yellow dust. Yuck.

Back to the title of the post.

Don’t be distracted. There is a lot going on right now that seems to be designed to distract and engage your spare attention. Don’t let it. Personal relationships. Personal finances. Personal health and fitness. Personal learning and skills. Focus locally on the things you can impact.

If you have spare cycles, go to civic meetings. Meet your neighbors, city council, school board, mayor, local reps. They will help or hinder you more than any of the 574 in DC. Your HOA has more to say about your rainwater barrels, fence, antenna, or security door than DC.

Get a garden in this year. Put some plants in pots. Test a couple of locations in the yard, and a couple of varieties. Fresh really DOES taste great. Doesn’t have to feed your household YET, and doesn’t need a lot of time or effort, (but you might trade money to save those things.)

Walk or bike around the neighborhood. Walking the dog gives an excellent excuse to check out the lay of the land. You will see stuff that you just don’t see by car.

Drive a different route. Don’t be in a rut. If you have a few extra minutes on the grocery run, take a different turn. (Visit a different store!) Even taking a familiar street from the opposite direction will show you things you didn’t notice.

If things get sporty or go downhill, local will be most important. Get a feel for what is ‘normal’ in your surrounding area. TALK TO PEOPLE. How many bums are panhandling? Where do they spend their days? Nights? Are there people just ‘hanging around’? How many day laborers are in the park or by Home Depot? You don’t need to do a census, but it’s easy to not see them entirely. LOOK. Get a feel for normal.

Stop at a garage sale this weekend. Chat. “Hi” “How have sales been? Been busy?” “Just cleaning up or getting ready to move?” People will share surprising amounts of info. You can get a better feel for the local economy talking to people and looking around than by reading national news.

There are big shifts in the world political scene and the world economy. Sure they happen all the time, but usually they happen in one place or another, and one thing at a time. Right now feels a lot like reading a history book about the changes before a major shift or realignment. Everyone is MORE of what they are, old ideas are resurfacing, resentments are building, reactions are more emotional and just generally ‘bigger’ than normal.

Do like the big fish, and position yourself before the start….

nick

69F with 98%RH this am. Cool and damp. My hands are stiff and previous nerve damage is flaring up. Weather or work, either way it’s a pain.

I look at the news and I think, “Leviathan is moving in the deep.” We see ripples, a glimpse of top fin, the occasional missing seal, the flash of movement, shadow swelling beneath the surface. The drums of war are beating, someone is chumming the water.

Or it’s just our human desire for pattern that projects all that onto the normal cycle of civilization.

Either way, it sure feels like change is in the air, and not in a good way.

nick