Anyone want to get me one for my birthday?

Snow is good-soft, deep, drifted snow. Snow is lovely. Remember that you are the pilot and your body is the aircraft. By tilting forward and putting your hands at your side, you can modify your pitch and make progress not just vertically but horizontally as well. As you go down 15,000 feet, you can also go sideways two-thirds of that distance-that’s two miles! Choose your landing zone. You be the boss.

What to do if the plane you are travelling in suffers what the engineers coyly call “catastrophic integrity failure.” Meaning that you’ve suddenly got bigger problems than the yakker in the next seat.

If you keep your wits about you, though, and employ these elementary principles of physics . . . well, you’ll probably end up like a smashed bug anyway.

Yet people have survived falls from a similar or even greater height before. Here’s how they did it.

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This picture, allegedly of some trailer park arrangement, has been making the rounds lately. Turns out, though, that it’s actually an open-air set built for the Theater het Amsterdam Bos, for a 1995 production of Chekhov’s Ivanov. More pictures (including the audience seating) here.

Not being familiar with the play, I looked it up on Wikipedia. It’s a tragedy set in rural Russia in the 19th century, so I guess the producers figured it was transferable to a more modern setting. No idea whether it worked or not.

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6 kasane bashi: Eating just one dish continuously
7 mochi bashi: Grabbing a dish, glass, etc whilst holding chopsticks in the same hand
8 mayoi bashi: Hovering chopsticks over the dishes while humming and hawing about what to eat
9 uke bashi: Holding chopsticks when asking for more rice
10 kaki bashi: Holding a bowl to your mouth and shovelling food in
11 neburi bashi: Licking your chopsticks
12 hane bashi: Pushing away disliked food with chopsticks

I was thinking about going to Japan; but that’s now off, for fear that I’d accidentally commit some ghastly faux pas that would require me to perform ritual seppuku in front of the Emperor or something.

So it’s hello, Disney World!

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The advice from Holocaust suriviors still holds true. Finland understands that, at least for a few more days.

The only possible remedy I can offer for this other than 24/7 surveillance of everyone, all of the time, including the “surveillors”, is to develop and prepare mentally for a selflessly aggressive reaction to threats. Call me paranoid if you desire, but a certain awareness and readiness seems necessary to a peacful yet prepared life.

For those not already familiar with Jeff Cooper, a quick Wiki entry should get you up to speed. It is his Color Code that I wish to emphasize here, which would have undoubtedly tipped off the young man’s school buddies if not the administration about his intentions in a general if not specific fashion. These things do not happen in a vacuum, self aggrandizing You Tube videos or not.

I have been thinking about a significant issue for some time. It is the transformation of our society of the same magnitude and influence as the shift early last century from an agrarian to an industrialized society. Im not sure whether to call it the information age or the service based society; maybe both. I believe we need to make a fundamental change in our attitude about how we provide for ourselves and what are our priorities in life. I believe we need to reacquire the independent, self sufficient attitudes of our grandparents or we will face increasingly unpleasant consequences.

Only fifty or a hundred years ago, many families relied on themselves and their local community connections for their livelihood and well being. They were more balanced mentally, physically and spiritually than most of us are today. Where practiced, this has been the case for thousands of years worldwide. In the last century, the entire world has become an army of specialists as the assembly line process was applied to every facet of manufacturing and business. Self sufficient generalists left farms and independent trades and went to work in large, rigidly organized manufacturing plants or other institutions.

The system worked well from a material perspective: increased wages and the availability of products increased our standard of living and freed up large amounts of time. However, personal responsibility and the supportive network of community are lost in the process. Over time, the voluntary sacrifice of skills and relationships has resulted in dependency on the industrial engine for everything we need for life. We have high debt, poor health, and endless social problems; we and our children are undisciplined, uneducated, and completely disinterested in self betterment. We are mere vestiges of our parents or grandparents with regard to the balance we maintain in our lives.

Over the last several decades we see workforce reduction, job descriptions change, outsourcing of specialized functions, changes in work hours, work methods, and compensation as technology and automation impacts our world. What is our response? We sue, organize, or petition government to pressure or block our employer from adopting new technologies and methods in response to market pressure. Our goals are to preserve some nonexistent right to perform our specialized function without change, to get paid higher and higher wages, and to think only about our endlessly consuming leisure and material interests. Then we act completely surprised when the company moves elsewhere or closes its doors.

By growing angry and resentful and maintaining a stubborn, unchanging attitude, we doom ourselves and our families to lower and lower standards of living as we drift blindly toward losing the skills needed to remain viable and employable as the unstoppable fundamental changes evolve in society. How shallow have we become? We are not interested in growing or changing or lifting a finger to insure our own or our families future viability in this world; only maintaining the status quo at all costs. Its sadly what I am hearing from a large segment of society. It is an attitude of complete dependency.

Some contemporary political and business leaders say we need to return “ownership” to individuals. Id rather call it personal responsibility and self sufficiency, but this sentiment demonstrates a fundamental understanding of the simple but profound idea that YOU are your own best keeper, not the company or the organization which purports to represent our best interests..

Work is changing and the signs are glaringly clear. The company is no longer our nanny. It is not (and never has been) up to someone else to keep us employed and happy as we concern ourselves with nothing other than our own leisure. We should adopt a forward looking attitude and make transitions in as much a controlled pace as possible while we remain able to direct our resources and time as we see fit to best position ourselves to benefit from changes in our society.

We need to change our focus, to re-establish vital connections with family, community, and self sufficiency. We need to stand on our own two feet, learn to take care of our own concerns, and teach our children to do the same. We need to escape the voluntary surrender of ownership of our lives. Companies grow and die; jobs come and go. Individuals are more important than mere money. We all say we believe that; we need to start acting like we believe that.

This last Saturday & Sunday, New England felt the tail-whip of tropical storm Noel. The news-guessers were dancing around making last-minute adjustments to what they started the week calling a sunny weekend, bumping up rainfall predictions and wind gusts in each successive broadcast. Power companies called in crews to stock up service vehicles and opened satellite business offices that were normally closed on the weekend to handle anticipated increased calls and need to dispatch crews.

It was a rainy, windy storm but not as harsh as the “surprise” storm in April. The “danger music” (haunting cello cords) played on the local panic station Saturday evening was gone Sunday morning as they reported minor local damage. One news report did stand out: it showed a resident wading up to his knees in his basement, gathering floating sneakers and hauling out appliances. When they interviewed him, he spoke about his sump pump not being able to keep up, wondered why no one had “done anything” about the stream overflowing, and commented that he saw flashing lights and was going out to see “what they were going to do for him”. My involuntary and perhaps unfairly harsh comment was “Go back to New Orleans”. What!?!?

New Orleans, for all the political wrangling, is a perfect example of what happens when people do not think clearly about the future and take personal responsibility for their own lives. I am not only talking about the fools on Bourbon Street dancing around for the camera and sloshing their drinks everywhere the night before Katrina; I am also talking about good, sane, responsible people. The guy on the news obviously had a house to live in and a life here in Maine, and he is probably a great guy. He was down there working hard in his flooded basement (a no-no by the way, as one could easily be electrocuted), not sitting on a cot at the local high school with a wool blanket over his shoulders. What’s my problem then? The time to act is before the storm, not during or after. I don’t expect the man to build a dike along the stream (something for which our local envirelgionist cult fanatics would hang him by the thumbs), but putting the nicely buoyant Nike’s up on a higher shelf might have been warranted; maybe even hauling out the washer and dryer.

The point is that we should think about storms and other contingencies well in advance. I understand it is unpalatable – the roof doesn’t leak when the sun shines – but it is far more palatable to climb on the roof and enjoy the sunny view while tacking on shingles than to tear out soggy, moldy rugs, wallboard, and insulation. How many of us know that New Orleans (not Louisiana) was given 7 million bucks 16 months before Katrina to build an Emergency Operations Center? Auditors have not been able to determine where the money was spent.

I’m just sayin’....

I often find that subjects related to independent living are “owned” by those who would fit in a broad leftist category bounded by gentle earth muffins on one side and anarchists on the other. That is not helpful to encourage the reacquisition of independence among everyone in society; rather, it guarantees independent living is relegated to the fringe.

Independent thinking and living in general is a very good thing to pursue. We have all unintentionally surrendered our minds and our lifestyles to institutions in the interest of getting things done in an efficient manner. Grocery stores, hospitals, schools, workplaces, churches and governments are large centralized repositories we created to move and store the stuff and ideas we need to live. Unfortunately we have lost our independent thinking and skills in the process.

When we start to think about independence, we may be put off by what we encounter, either from a political or skill building perspective. I ran into this when re-entering the prep world after the New England ice storm of 1998 – everything was “survivalist” mentality clumsily modified to fit (not really) into a suburban world. I think that hinders rather than helps to encourage rational independence. There is a very simple, more rational and natural way to think: Ask yourself how your grandparents did things. It’s really that simple; mentally take everything back to the days before huge private and government institutions advertised and legislated their ways (with our willing compliance) into every crevice of our lives.

We should all take easy first steps to experience success and build encouragement to pursue more independence. When is the last time you changed a tire? Do you know where the stuff is in your vehicle to do it? Can you, your husband/wife, and your kids all successfully unscrew the spark plug from your push mower, clean it and reinstall it? The road to independence does not start with suspicion, tinfoil hats, and survivalist catalogs – go find those tire tools & figure out how to use them!

As the days get longer, the leaves get scarcer and the temperature drops people tend to start thinking about Christmas/Chanaukah and what they are going to give to people. While outdoor furniture or a porch swing might be a bit big of an item for some on your list there are plenty of other presents made of cedar that might suit like maybe a nice ceder chest for someone you know with a new house? Its especially good for newlyweds looking for a place to store things. There are all kinds of things made from quality wood. And cedar after all has the wonderful smell.

As winter begins to come to where you live with its rain, and in some cases snow, it might be a good idea to reconsider paving your driveway. As the weather gets more inclement dirt driveways can become an increasing nuisance whether its the dirt you track into your house or the cleanliness of your car. Sorting your driveway before the winter is one of those Home improvements its a good idea to consider this time of year.

As winter begins to come to where you live with its rain, and in some cases snow, it might be a good idea to reconsider paving your driveway. As the weather gets more inclement dirt driveways can become an increasing nuisance whether its the dirt you track into your house or the cleanliness of your car. Sorting your driveway before the winter is one of those Home improvements its a good idea to consider this time of year.

With all the huge semis running around there are problem lots of people who get injured by bad truck drivers. Now most are pretty damn good driver; they have to be to survive in the business with all the hours they put on the road. Then again there are complete arses who think that because they drive a 30 ton lorry they own the road. You know the guys who think they are actually in the game “Mother Truckers”. I saw one today where they guy thought that he might have a chance of getting his rig across a road in front of me at an intersection only to decide that it would not necessarily be a good idea. The bloke had his cab so far past the stop sign as to be almost pointless. On the other hand there is a guy who drives his cab to the supermarket which is sort of amusing.

Lets hope you won’t ever get into a trucking accident make sure that you do your best to make the guy pay for his mistake. You need to think about a trucking accident lawsuit. The good ones need to be discouraged and the bad ones need to be gotten off the road before they kill someone.

Doncha just hate it when your double glazing gets a bit old and is less effective. Its one of those things you never seem to remember to do except when things are really noisy outside like roadworks or fireworks. You are lying in bed, trying to sleep, while some nonce who is drunk sings outside, cursing yourself for not getting round to changing them for something newer. Lets face it getting replacement windows can be a pain in the rear at the best of times. But as with much of what is called home improvement, once its done you will thank yourself for doing it. Now is a good time to do it as well; its quieter and you will be glad for the heat retention once its gets a bit colder.

As I am not in situ and its rather convenient we are not getting mail in London, I have yet to write about the dire state of the British Royal Mail. What genius decided that a week long strike would do anything but engage the anger of everyone in the land is beyond me. The DT is saying that this strike is putting the Royal Mail at make or break point. Its been pretty much stuffed for a long time as no one with any sense sends anything that really matters through the Royal Mail anything other than registered. I have been having things go awry, including wedding invitations, for many a year.

I rather feel sorrry for some of my, or rather Marty my metal alter ego’s, review product suppliers. Much of their material is time sensitive, you don’t send it too early or too late, who have this rather large mail hole in the middle of the run up, review wise, to Christmas. It will not shock you to hear that much of what is in the system does not actually get anywhere after a strike.

Her Majesty disassociate herself with it forthwith as well. What a sorry state the unions have brought it to. Oh to own a Mail Boxes Etc franchise in the UK.

More on the postal strike here and read some of the comments to see how bad its gotten when they are actually working.

This time I am talking furniture to be exact. That nicely styled stuff for quite a few years ago that sometimes gets lost in the roar of all the uber-cool stuff that does not age well. Ultimately I am talking something like Bertoia Stools which it is said are making a comeback. Just as neo-retro car styling, ie the new Challenger and Camaro started off by the PT Cruiser, 50 year old furniture styling is making a come back too. How about of retro-cool is your oh so modern apartment?

Recently we got a catalogue at my parents house all about the latest watches around. Now these watches ranged from the rather neat to the downright bizarre with price ranges to match. Now I am not into watches like many men we know; however one of the watches in this magazine was so odd and eccentric I would even be willing to wear it. I dont normally wear a watch at all; but something this bizarre with its steampunk attitude might just convince me otherwise.

And with any of sort of hobby; if you want become a watch hobbyist you need to know what you are doing. Its amazing what a bit of tender loving care can do to the value of an older watch. There are lots of auctions online and offline only too willing to help sell your collectable watches.

You might even be interested in a watch article to get you on your way. As with most any hobby there is a myriad of information on the web about it. It always pays to know where to get the correct and accurate information you need easily and quickly. Watch collecting and home repair is really no different.

Cedar, the wood that smells nice as a tree and is rather good to make furniture from as well. Cedar is long lasting, looks great with a bit of age and its smell has some affect on the bugs that bother one when you are trying to site outside on a lovely winter’s evening. I just finished spending much of the afternoon with my derriere on a cedar chair; writing, reading and generally enjoying the New England autumn. Cedar is popular for patio furniture here in New England for lots of reasons; including the ones above.

While not technically in New England, Cedar Store has a great selection of cedar ourdoor furniture at internet prices. Of course one of the nice things about this site is the fact you can actually talk to a live human if you feel the need. This is reassuring when you are making a purchase that should last you for quite a long time. They also offer free shipping to the lower 48 US states. The site is well laid out and easy to use; allowing you to get the info you need and purchase the outdoor furniture you want at a good price.

I suspect many of you have been a position where you are suddenly expected to move somewhere to work with little notice; having to up sticks and sort yourself out in a strange city. Its even more fun when its a foreign city. You might be looking Berlin apartments and unsure where to start. Well, unlike in days of old, there are some good internet pages to give you all the info. No fluff, just the info and the help you need. Its a clean and clear site well worth checking out no matter how long you need a place for.

As students head back to university and high school its time when they think of writing essays and papers on lots of different subjects. With the internet there are ways that they can help make their academic life easier. Essay Writing services are just one of those ways to help oneself when you get in a bind. Now there are some of those who find this activity to be immoral or a tad dishonest. It has always gone on just now its not down to contacts or your friends but open to all online.

People have writing, editing and re-writing papers for those less able to since universities began. Not everyone can wax on about every subject on this earth. That is one of the reason was specialisation, as it happens in the UK, is probably a better way of doing things.

The website that I refer to has a long history of helping students with their essays; with product being delivered every day of the week. They pride themselves on their customer service, value and quality of product. If you are using such services you really want to make sure you are getting quality product. Not to do so would be foolish indeed.

If you visit many peoples houses or have looked at fully furnished properties one thing you always notice is people’s choice in a lampshade. It seems to be a clear indication about their amount of imagination and style. A shoddy or lame lampshade can really bring a room down. What is worse is one that completely obscures the bulb within. Yes, a random thought it may seem, but when you are thinking of selling your property make sure your lampshades do you proud.

You are shrunk to the height of a nickel and your mass is proportionally reduced so as to maintain your original density. You are then thrown into an empty glass blender. The blades will start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do?

From a test given to job-seekers at Google. I assume that they’re looking for creative answers; the ability to think “outside the box,” as it were. Via Jason Kottke (his readers’ guesses at the question here.)

More Google questions here. Microsoft has a similar test (even some of the questions are the same).

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Or for that matter, in the daytime. Talk about your twisty little mazes, all alike.

Photograph by Scott Peterman (slightly larger version here) of the Ecatepec district (I’ve never been there, but judging by a quick skim of this Wikipedia article, the city is divided into different administrative sectors, not unlike New York City’s boroughs.) of Mexico City.

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Having just gotten married and having used a wedding planner I can assure you its so much easier if you get professional help when planning a wedding. Finding the invites for the big day can be a right pain in the arse; especially if you want to do something interesting. So something like Wedding Invitations by InvitationConsultants.com might just be what you are looking for; if you are stuck for what you want. The site is easy to use and navigate. There are lots of choices to choose from. Planning for a wedding is a fraught affair; anything that makes it easier is always welcome.

Who’d a figured that I would be writing about a site called Kultic.com. Shockingly the site has nothing to do with anything Cthulhu-esque or other cultish machinations. Its the home of True Religion Jeans who do a nice line in the ultra-hip for both men and women. So next time you are off in that forgotten glen to take part in some ritual or other why not wear jeans via a company called Kultic? You need to look good on the way now don’t you?

Now some parts of the US and the UK probably will have a hard time thinking about bright sunlight and prolonged periods of intense sunlight but there are still places in the US that have been affected this summer. In many cases homes are not prepared for the periods of the year when there is bright sun at its summer height. Either the houses are too old to have proper windows or the tint on the windows has lessened due to age.

There is actually a way to give yer windows a boost in their solar protection without having to pay lots of money having a professional come in and replace them all. The cost of such an undertaking is always high whatever time of year it happens to be.

You can now get a window tint which is very effective at keeping out UV. 99% in fact and they keep out 93% of heat and glare thus making a house or office more comfortable during daylight hours. These tints are easy to install with a helpful window tint>video explanation making it clear how easy it is for almost everyone.

Before you put off sun protecting your house by replacing windows because of the expense why not consider window tints instead. What is good for you in your car works just as well in your house or office as well.

Now, I was a batchelor for quite a while with my own flat. I left much of the decorating to my mother as I could not be bothered. As I am now in a new flat with my wife we have made some changes. One of the things we have done is get some new curtains to liven up the back bedroom which is now also an office. I never thought it was as hard to hang curtains as it is, we still have some tweaking to do. Another thing that suprised me was how much of a difference some good (in this case red) curtains make to a room.

In the neverending quest to get yer name out there there are lots of odd ways of doing it. One, not so odd, that has been used for a long time by bigger PR efforts are Personalized Tote Bags. The price of them is going down quite a bit and it might be an idea for people trying to push their website or blog. Even if you just do a few for yourself and your family for them to carry around. People do see the URL and every little helps after all.

With all the problems from members of the religion of peace one wonders if it is ever worthy it to check any luggage. And lest I needed reminding, the complete loss of all the luggage of a whole family at my wedding was another clear example of why its good to have a good bag with you that is not checked. One of the members of the family had a packed a jacket in his carry-on so was able to be a wee bit smug the next day. Kim and I are really trying to have the trans-atlantic lifestyle were we have enough on either side of the Atlantic not to have to carry anything much back and forth.

The brother-in-law has himself a border terrier called Beatie. Another terrier you might want to consider is a Boston Terrier, if you are into the terrier breeds. And if you are considering a Boston Terrier or have one already you might want to consider taking a look at the Boston Terriers Dog Guide Article. Terriers are great dogs for those who want a dog that is fun but is not too large. If you live in a confined space you might want to consider taking a look at the breed.

It always helps if you get the right dog for you. A bit of research will go a long way when it comes to getting a new dog.

I know a certain close family member who could have used this bit of info. It is always handy to puppy training tips to hand even if you are an experience dog owner. Its amazing what you forget over the life of your dog, especially if you are fortunate to have a dog that lives for a very long time.