It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

It is a lovely day. The sun is shining, the sky is almost without clouds, and it's a balmy 54 degrees. Can't ask for much more than that in mid-November. We haven't seen snow yet, and barely even frost. Growing up in Minnesota, I've been snowed in by this point in the year before, even if it did not typically last.

I was invited to pen a piece for ProgressiveNation and I've spent the morning writing about liberalism and today's conservatism. As usual, my ideas have run away with me and it's ended up a bit on the long side. Hopefully not too long. Anyone who knows me knows I like to cite my sources and provide examples (in context) in order to support my arguments. I did not want to simply write a flat-out opinion piece. I like how it turned out. If it's too long I'll find a use for it elsewhere or see what I can do to put together an abridged version as well.

It always feels good to write. Fighting with the flu has given me some time to do that since I haven't been up and around much and a laptop offers so much flexibility. I'm getting used to Microsoft Office 2007. WORD is a little different than the old version I was using and nothing is where I expect it to be but that hasn't slowed me down terribly, and I'm gradually getting the hang of it and of the new keyboard.

I've been doing a lot of reading as well, including some very interesting Neoplatonism by Edward Butler. I've always said it doesn't get any better than Plato, but this is not strictly true as it leaves out Plotinus and Proclus. I've never seen a better cosmology than that supported by Neoplatonic thought. Polytheism lives very comfortably in its bosom, which is why you will not find the ancient philosophers calling for an end to the traditional cults. On the contrary, the traditional cults were supported.

I've also pretty much organized my new desk. It's slightly larger than the old, still fits snugly in the corner but has a couple of handy (if not too-strong) shelves for little things that no longer clutter the area where my mouse roams. I'm very comfortably ensconced and it's not too much of a burden to unhook and move to another room. Targus makes a very nice folding lap-desk for laptops which when deployed on a desk-top can position the computer at an angle suitable for typing. It was only about $20. I highly recommend it. It has holes in it and keeps the laptop breathing, which is essential - while keeping your lap relatively cool. I haven't had to use my old fan yet.

Now that I'm fully locked onto the 21st century, I'm going to get back to writing in order to offer some resistance to the 13th century the Republican Party is so eager to impose upon us.

Thor protect you all.

Some Rambling Thor's Day Thoughts

A nice, balmy, 30 degrees this morning. Frost on the car. On the leaves, which are still on the grass and un-raked. The H1N1 hit this week and I'm probably going to have to fight frost (hopefully not snow) to get the lawn raked before the city comes to collect the leaves. They were tardy about it last year, which may work to my advantage this year. I'm a bit chilled, sitting in front of my laptop. Usually this is the warmest room in the house, but I can tell when it's colder than normal outside.

I've been working on some art-work for the Helhest Captain's Log, a portrait of Najet Boulemi, Moroccan captain of the ship. I sketched her with my mechanical pencil, scanned her into a jpg and then tried working with her on my Wacom. I did not prove adept at this so I resorted to my mouse (strange that a mouse would be easier to draw with than a stylus). I think she turned out decently. I'm not 100% satisfied but as a first effort I'm quite happy. I may fiddle with the image some more before all is said and done. Here is an "artistic" rendering of her. I've put another up at the Helhest blog (http://helhest.blogspot.com).

It's an interesting way to "do" art. I used to draw a lot as a child. My mother went to art school and painted in oils and acrylics. I tried my hand at oils and at acrylics and the results were not promising. I was more comfortable being able to erase. I think that helps me with drawing pictures on the computer. I can save as often as I want, use the "undo" feature real life so sadly lacks, and have another go at it until I get it right. And of course, adding a layer...oh, need another layer! is nice too. You can fiddle endlessly, blend, blur and anything else you want. The mosaic version of Najet Boulemi was interesting.

I want to try to do a ship image too. I'm already working on a sort of sun-wheel symbol to use as the signet of the imperial house (and on the imperial flag). I will probably create a background for her that utilizes the sun-wheel over one shoulder and the ship's own symbol (a stylized helhest) over the other, maybe with a motto and the hull number. It's a nice creative process and it helps generate ideas for background material in my head as I work. One thing leads to another, as they say....

I've been slowed by the flu and going to bed early so I haven't gotten much actual writing done. I find inspiration dries up when I feel like death warmed over. I'm fortunate I'm old enough that I haven't gotten as sick as my son, but then he got Tamiflu, which seems to be some sort of miracle drug, it acts so quickly. I hope now that he's been exposed (at least once, possibly twice) he develops some immunity and that he won't have to deal with it again, because there is a long school year ahead and he's already missed two weeks, not to mention every Tuesday for his Gaucher treatments.

Finally, there is Thursday night football. I love NFL Network. Watch it more than any other and I don't have to worry about my favorite shows being canceled. I've got my fantasy rosters set (I think). My bye-weeks were mostly weeks 5 and 6 and I've had far fewer gaps to fill since then. I have three teams among my 10 bound for the playoffs barring a late-season collapse, a couple so far behind they can never catch up, and several that are middle-of-the-pack. We'll see how it all turns out. I'm not cut-throat about it. I want to win, certainly, but it's just for fun and I have fun either way. I know what I'll be doing tonight as I recline beneath my Baltimore Ravens blanket with my feet up, laptop in my lap, and a mug of hot apple cider in my hand.

Thor's Day

It's been a strange couple of days again. Got some snow, but the snow melted right off and yesterday it rained all day like the monsoon season is upon us. It was 39 while it rained, and was 31 two days when Devin and I went outside to play. There was still some snow on the ground in shadowed areas then but the rain took care of that. Now I wake up to find snow coming down. It's 35 so unless it gets colder it won't last, but what a bizarre winter. The old term "spring thaw" has become meaningless in this new era of Global Warming.

The little guy is feeling poorly. We're all fighting something off this time of year. He was a little feverish last night and today is treatment day so all I can do is hope for the best. I gave him medicine before bed and put him down early but he hasn't slept and well, we all who have had or been around kids know how that goes.

I haven't accomplished much the past couple of days. I've spent more time with him, which has been nice. I haven't been much on Digg, Facebook, the Blogosphere or any other virtual realm. And I think I kind of shot my bolt with three long, intense posts in three days. A little decompression was in order.

The picture above was sent me by Indrani. I don't know what it's attribution is. A friend of hers at JNU University in Delhi sent it to her and she passed it along to me. Like her, I think it's perfectly appropriate.

Since today is treatment day I don't suppose I'll get a lot done either. If Devin is too sick for the treatment I'll cancel but then I still won't be online much because the little guy will need some care and comfort. I'm going to see what I can get done in the next half-hour before I have to rouse him.

Sunna's Day

What a day! Nothing like what I grew up with in early February in Minnesota. All the snow is gone, save for a few patches. Incredibly ugly outside. It felt like a wet fall day, right after a rain. Normally I wouldn't complain, but I kind of miss having a winter that...well, lasts all winter. These intermittent spring periods are a drag. Fortunately I'm not doing any cross-country skiing these days or I'd be even unhappier.

I watched a few minutes of the Pro-Bowl. It's not a game I've ever gotten excited about, mostly because the players themselves aren't. Nobody is going to risk their career for this game. I think the players on the winning team get about $45K and the losing team gets about half that. Not bad sounding to the rest of us but chicken feed compared to their regular salaries.

I've taken a step back from Digg today. It gets a bit overwhelming and it can consume a lot of time reading through the shouts you get from various people about things you care nothing about. I mean, there are some weird news stories out there. I'm limiting myself to news and politics/religion. There isn't a religion category there but there is some religion news. I also take a peak at stories about web development, of course.

I had intended to get some blogging done today instead but I've been having some trouble with my blood sugar levels. I was diagnosed with diabetes a few weeks ago and this is the first real trouble I had. The other day I was left utterly weak and miserable feeling out of the blue. I didn't know why. Turned out my blood sugar had crashed. I couldn't even lift my arms. At least now I know the symptoms to watch for. I can catch it before it gets that bad.

So tomorrow, back to the blogging so I can catch up on what everyone else is doing, and of course, the forums. I also want to get back to mosmaiorum.org this week. So many pages to update with the new footnote style. It's going to be hard work but it will look great.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

There was a whole lotta digging going on today. The snow was up to 8" deep towards the foot of the driveway, and the thinnest patch was on the steps, at 3". I never did finish shoveling so I'm hoping more snow is not on the way (as predicted). Had to go out tonight to widen what I had done earlier so that the nurse can get in tomorrow to treat Devin. She has an SUV but it's not easy to drive in that much snow. It's about 9 degrees now so not much likelihood of it melting for me, which means more shoveling tomorrow. With any luck it will hold off long enough for me to get caught up!