AND WE'RE BACK!

Hard to believe it's been two years since I have updated but there has been a lot going on in my life that I cannot share on the web. Well I choose not to share most of it to be honest.

Mom passed away in June of 2014 and I have had my own health issues but things are getting better. I am getting together with friends locally and driving again.

Expect regular updates going forward. At least one every two weeks or so. And if I am slacking on it then please shoot me a message and let me know!

Now back to a cuppa!

Watch the Global Premiere of Origins the Movie - for free.

Watch the Global Premiere of Origins the Movie: From November 13th through November 22nd, watch the feature-length movie Origins for FREE from filmmaker Pedram Shojai. #OriginsFilm @Well_Org



So yes - I am shilling this. Actually I am not getting anything for it but I did watch it last night and wanted to share the link with everyone I could reach. If you are interested in health (your own or that of someone else) then you should take the 1 hour and 45 minutes to watch this film, not only for the content but also for the photography.



If you do watch it then please let me know what you think. What parts appealed to you? Are you already doing some of the things mentioned in the film or did the film inspire you to do something (or something more?) Or did you watch it and say "Meh - it's not for me" Just curious.



I have made some changes in my life over the last 3 years and practice some of what is mentioned in the film. I need to add more into my life and over time will do so as things settle down.



OK. That's it for now.

Product Review: SpeedStickGEAR

I belong to an online community called Influenster. The following paragraph, which is taken directly from their website’s “About” page will tell you a bit about them and their “purpose-in-life.” For more information you can visit www.influenster.com.

“Influenster is a free-to-join community of trendsetters, social media masterminds, and educated consumers who live to give opinions of products and experiences.

The Influenster site is a hub where members meet to learn about new products from our favorite brands as well as review the products they already use in their day-to-day lives!

Influenster invites its most active members to participate in exclusive VoxBox programs where members receive complimentary products to test and review. In exchange, we ask our members to do what they already love to do: share their opinions with their friends & followers on social media!”

That said - here is the obligatory legal disclaimer that is required here in the U.S. when one does a review of a product they have received at no cost:

    THIS IS A SPONSORED POST; INFLUENSTER PROVIDED SpeedStickGEAR products TO ME AS A MEMBER OF INFLUENSTER.COM I WAS NOT COMPENSATED FOR THIS POST, OPINIONS ARE MY OWN AND NOT INFLUENCED IN ANY WAY.

 I recently received #SpeedStickGEAR samples from @Influenster and have been trying them. The package that arrived contained two full size products of their new antiperspirant “Drycore” deodorant line.

The two scents were Fresh Force which had the scent of a rather strong Irish Spring soap bar and the other which is called Clean Peak. I personally found the latter scent more palatable and not as overwhelming.

Unfortunately in the past I have had issues with solid stick antiperspirants and this time was no different. I developed an itch under my arms after two days when I used the first stick and while it went away after a few days, when I tried the other stick it happened again. I believe that it was the active ingredient which is called “aluminum zirconium terachlorohydrex gly.” 

That said, your mileage may vary and you may find these products work well for you especially if you tend to sweat heavily. It is a shame as I could see myself using the Clean Peak instead of my current underarm deodorant.

The container is designed similarly to any underarm solid stick deodorant/antiperspirant sold in North America with one major positive exception – the sides have a ridged silver grip. This grip is very handy if you have wet or wet soapy hands when you get out of the shower as the container will not slip out of your hands and down to the floor.

So you might wish to try it and comment below whether or not you like it and if it works for you. Because I could not continue to use these products I passed them on to a friend of mine who plays a lot of basketball and who skis a lot during the winter. He does sweat like crazy. His feedback was that the products work great and that he would certainly consider purchasing them when he needs more. So that’s a positive thing to know for those of you that are extremely active.

You can find out more information and possibly find some coupons (you know that coupon availability always varies on different manufacturer websites) at their website:  http://www.colgate.com/app/Speedstick/US/EN/HomePage.cvsp

Until next time – enjoy your cuppa!

Welcome back! To me that is...

Wow - is it already more than a year since I've posted? I can't believe it! Well - actually I can. I've had some major things going on in my life and yes - Mom is still alive at 93 years old! Her health has declined somewhat and she now has hospice along with help. But she is still chipper most of the time albeit more tired than before.

It's cold out there tonight 10 degrees F or -12.2 C which, with the windchill feels like -11 F or -23.9 C and that's right now. It is snowing but with some moisture in the air giving the ground an icy gloss. There is a Wind Chill Advisory that has been posted by the Weather Service with a prediction of temperatures going down to -29 F / 33.9 C tonight. A good night to stay inside!

I will try to write more regularly. I need to do so. As I have said in the past - this site is for me to write about anything and everything and I will be doing so - from product reviews to generally anything!

So sit back, grab your cuppa and enjoy the ride!

Thanksgiving 2012

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States. Many ex-pats also celebrate it as do other people around the world. Like the toy shopping rush at Christmas the American Thanksgiving has slowly become a global tradition. So I want to wish all my friends who celebrate it "Happy Thanksgiving." 

However I also ask that you take a moment at your table and think about the full history of the holiday as well as the impact on that the arrival of the settlers had - not only on the development of what would become the USA but also on the native Americans who were here and how their history and lives were changed. 

For every action there is always a reaction. Let us all prepare to start 2013 and move forward being more aware of that.Let us learn from history and make this planet a better place. Doing so can be a small ting as simple as starting to recycle or compost. (Did you know that many coffee shops will give you their used grounds for your compost pile?) It can be a bigger thing - such as supporting and working towards peace or helping those less fortunate than you or volunteering. The point is to just do something. It's more than just "teaching the children" but also about learning from them and their innocence as well.

So - are you celebrating Thanksgiving? The other Thanksgiving "tradition" is not as much fun. This is the busiest day of the year for hospital Emergency Rooms as people arrive from having heart attacks. Let's try and not celebrate that tradition.

Some simple rules and things to remember - a/k/a the 10 Commandments of Thanksgiving:

1. Thou shalt enjoy the food but celebrate the people you are with.
2. Thou sh

alt eat in moderation. Have a little bit of everything you like instead of a lot.
3. Thou shalt remember that this meal has a lot of high fat content from the appetizers and eggnog to the final bit of dessert with the fresh whipped cream.
4. Thou shalt leave that "just one more bite" where it belongs - on the plate - NOT in your belly. When you are full - that's it - you are full so stop eating.
5. Thou shalt remember that it is a holiday usually celebrated with a lot of family and friends. That inherently means higher stress levels. Avoid those arguments and political debates as much as possible.
6. Thou shalt remember that Black Friday is a marketing ploy and not an Olympic sporting event in which you have to participate. Stores are counting on the leftover food high to get you to go more into debt.
7. Thou shalt remember that leftovers can indeed be frozen for a couple of months so you have no need to eat turkey for the next 10 days.
8. Thou shalt not fast until the Thanksgiving meal. It is healthier to eat a small to medium breakfast and then not eat as much food at the feast.
9. Thou shalt take a walk or do some other form of MODERATE exercise before or after your meal. Do not overdo it - especially after the meal as you could end up in the E.R. as the body tries to figure out what to do.
10. Thou shalt, despite all these caveats, enjoy the day and the people you are sharing it with and reflect upon all you do have and the history behind the holiday. Then figure out what you can do to make the world a better place.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE.

Invisible Money

I know I've been M.I.A. for a while. This has been due to health issues. Writing has just been too taxing. However I did feel it important to start doing something with the blog again so today I will be featuring a post by my good friend Andy Marken.

 Andy is a publicist in California who specializes in high-tech. His insights into the entire electronics industry and the directions it has taken/will take are always interesting and make for great conversation. 

Periodically he releases a missive such as the one that follows and going forward I shall share some of these with you. Your responses and discussion are always welcome.

Enjoy!

Peter

Replacing Cash Will Be Slow, Painful, Inevitable

“The whole world's frightened to death! So, I see Kemp couldn't sleep, he had to go downstairs, he was frightened. I put my trust in Kemp, I told him my secret and he gave me his word of honor.” --  “The Invisible Man,” Universal Pictures, 1933

 

Eons ago, the wife and I were in Carmel and found a metal sculpture of Don Quixote we really wanted, but we didn’t have the cash with us and she hadn’t replaced the checks.

 

The shop owner reached in a drawer and brought out a counter check – fill in the bank name, the amount, sign it.

 

That was it…done.

 

We were reminded of that instance when an acquaintance in England told us that back in early 1970s Ireland went without a banking system for six and a half months when the bank employees went on strike.

 

A funny thing happened.

 

People, companies resorted to IOUs and bartering to settle payments; and according to the Irish Central Bank, the level of economic activity continued to increase.

 

We doubt that that level of “faith” in a person’s word will ever return, but weirder things have happened.

 

Even for a relatively short period, people got along without bank accounts, checks and cash withdrawals from ATMs.

 

The truth is, the technical aspects of money and banking is limited.

 

Another acquaintance alerted us to a book by David Wolman, “The End of Money.”

 

In researching the book, Wolman lived without cash for a year while circling the globe to research the book.

 

So your banker, broker, tech toy seller won’t have a heart attack, we should note that the book isn’t about giving up money, but replacing it with electronic payments

 

Electronic and mobile money is inevitable.

 

Phone Flood

Worldwide, there are more mobile phones than people occupying the planet.

 

Smartphones are all the buzz because you can do so much with them – text, check email, watch movies, take/send pictures, listen to music, surf the web; and oh yeah, make a call.

 

What’s more logical than to add all your really personal stuff – ID, PIN numbers, passwords, bank info and contacts?

 

True, you don’t need all that stuff on your phone to add electronic banking – cheap feature phones outsell smartphones worldwide.

 

People in Africa and Asia get along just fine sending/receiving micropayments, calling/talking to each other.

 

There’s even a dwindling population of retro folks who pride themselves on resisting the rush to get an iPhone (not our kids, but) -- so they can figure out what town they are in, what restaurants are around, what the weather is and the need to sling birds at targets.

 

No one mugs these folks for their phone because fer gawd sake, who wants to steal a flip-phone?

 

But they do miss out on mobile shopping, which increased from 75 percent to 93 percent last year.

 

 

Swipe, Go 

Mobile shopping has only begun to slowly catch on with Gen Yers, but a few leading-edge retailers such as Starbucks have been successful in getting customers to use their smartphones to pay for goods/services.  Retailers see the advantage of having their specific mobile money application because it brings them closer to the customer to offer coupons, special offers and faster service.

 

Of course, completing a purchase in the Americas still isn’t as popular as it is in Finland, Japan and other countries. In those parts of the world, people have used phones as ‘virtual’ credit cards for years, paying for everything from parking to bottles of soda and gadgets to dinner.

 

In the Americas, we’re dipping our phones in the water, using the device for electronic boarding passes, going to movies/concerts, buying a cup of coffee. 

 

Store Visit

Still, the most common action according to Ipsos – 55 percent of the respondents – is to go to a store in person after the smartphone search.

 

Mobile purchases are the first step toward mobile money, but even that is slow in coming.

 

 

Mobile Shopping 

People are increasingly using their mobile devices – tablets, smartphones – to do product and outlet research.  The predominant solution so far is to find the store/product/best price and make the purchase in the store.  Source – comScore

 

The Harris poll recently reported:

-        Only 5% responded that they have scanned their phone for admission to a movie, or to board a plane

-        Only 3% have scanned their phone to pay for retail items, enter a concert, or buy a cup of coffee

-        40% replied they had never scanned their phone for any purpose

-        45% said they do not own a smartphone with this capability

-        Just 5% and 10% of so-called ‘Echo Boomers’ (Gen Y) have ever scanned their phones for transactions

-        25% were ‘not at all comfortable‘ with the idea of using smartphone as a gift card

-        39% were comfortable using their smartphone as a gift card

-        47% said they were not comfortable with the concept

-        14% weren’t sure

-        63% said they were not comfortable using a smart phone app that would store credit card information for electronic transactions

-        47% of respondents were comfortable using a smart phone scan for movie theater and concert admissions

-        Men are more receptive to smartphone commerce apps than women

-        Younger adults (not surprisingly) are more at ease with the process than older adults

 

And on-phone purchases are only the first step in moving to mobile money.

 

The biggest hold back is security and privacy.

 

As the Invisible Man warned, “All right, you fools. You've brought it on yourselves! Everything would have come right if you'd only left me alone. You've driven me near madness with your peering through the keyholes and gaping through the curtains. And now you'll suffer for it!”

 

Of course, up until now bad guys/gals haven’t been much interested in tapping into phones but smartphones – with iOS, Android OS, Windows – is a whole different opportunity.

 

Due to the difficulty of updating software and patching vulnerabilities on mobile phones, malware writers have started to get busy.

 

Attacks Just Beginning 

Mobile phone malware and cyber theft is just beginning to appear; and most security analysts say it will rapidly increase as people begin to widely use smartphones as their key personal/company information on the devices.  With the growing use of smartphones for almost everything, consumers will become more vulnerable to attack.  Source – Lookout

According to Lookout Mobile Security’s Mobile Threat Report, Android smartphone owners are twice as likely to encounter malware as they were six months ago.

Lookout notes that botnet networks – integrating thousands of mobile devices into a network to distribute spam, steal private info, install other malware like DroidDream, Geimini – are only beginning to scale.

 

No Game 

While Grand Theft Auto is an adrenalin-raising, addictive game at home or on the go, its mobile version warns smartphone users they can’t be too careful.

 

Cracking the Code

But one security analyst said the bad guys/gals are only just beginning.

It’s a lot like Willy Sutton’s response when asked “Why do you rob banks?”

Pretty obvious...“Because that’s where the money is!”

Today’s cyber criminals are no different…that’s where you are. 

Mobile Pickpocketing (SMS/call fraud) – charging phone bills – is already racking up millions for these people with things like GGTracker, RuFraud and other creative efforts. 

 

The biggest problem – cyber crooks think of it as opportunity – is that all those gazillion mobile apps are developed by folks who have little/no understanding/consideration for data privacy or confidentiality.

 

And trust us; you don’t have a clue on what types of information is collected, how it is used, how it is retained!

 

Or, as the farmer said, “Excuse me, sir. There's breathing in my barn.”

 

That’s probably why people like Juniper Research forecast that mobile payments for digital and physical goods, mobile money transfers and NFC-enabled contactless transactions will almost triple from $240 billion in 2011 to $670 billion in 2015.

 

 

Testing the Waters 

Almost every retailer is trying to incorporate mobile devices into their customer contact/sales activity.  It includes making mobile devices – initially iPads, iPod Touches – as well as mobile configured-websites; and increasingly, they are testing solutions for checkout with the smartphone.  Over the next few years, a wide range of options will be available until two or three are tapped by retailers and consumers.  Source - AisleBuyer

 

Retailers are already seeing the advantages of on-phone purchases and the data they can acquire when people use their mobile devices for payments.

 

The service providers, Google, Apple, Microsoft have been educating/helping them move people to the convenience and “benefits” of using your all-purpose smartphone for just everything.

 

On-phone purchases/electronic cash won’t come quickly; and it will be chaotic between now and then. After all, “everyone” – banks, credit card companies, PayPal, stores -- will want a piece of the action.

 

Of course, there is also the little issue of making you feel totally comfortable with it as well.

 

False Security

There are really smart people like Giovanni Vigna, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who studies security and malware. He said it’s only a matter of time before mobile security will be as second nature to consumers as computer security.

 

Yeah, Willy Sutton liked bankers with that attitude.

 

Consumers are a little more cautious, less optimistic.

 

 

Yes But 

While younger consumers who do virtually everything with their smartphone can appreciate the advantage of using the smartphone and tablet as a means of paying for goods/services, mobile payment is still a work in progress.  Security, privacy and payment standards are just a few of the issues standing in the way of widespread usage.  Source – Prosper Mobile Insights

Harris Research found that the cashless solution with electronic payments has a ways to go:

-        10% think it will happen in one to less than three years

-        18% think it will take between three and five years

-        21% stated it will happen in five to less than ten years

-        15% said the trend will take ten years or more

-        30% said electronic data stored on phones will never replace cash payments

Wolman was right in his book and cash will disappear globally not to IOUs but to your mobile device.

 

For most of us, it’s going to take time, lots of time.

 

 

When it does, lots will hear the Invisible Man whisper, “I failed. I meddled in things that man must leave alone.”

2012

Hi everyone! First and foremost I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season regardless of whether you celebrate Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Solstice or some other holiday. May 2012 be a year of prosperity, happiness, health, success and more for all of us!

So certain things happen this time of year in addition to lots of holiday parties, people announcing engagements, etc. One thing is that certain people look forward to the Christmas episode of a certain British show that has been around since 1963. To be a fan of Doctor Who is like no other fan of any other television show on the planet.

One can be a fan of Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5 and more but one becomes a FAN of Doctor Who.

So to those of you that are not familiar, here is a link that will give you a history of what has been called "the longest running science fiction show on television: Doctor Who Wikipedia entry

For those of you that are fans here is a wonderful resource for you: The Doctor Who Timeline

This is the official BBC website link: Doctor Who and here is the site for BBC America: Doctor Who - BBC America

So I hope this is good for all of you.

I'm off to watch the 2011 Christmas Special.

Tardis Ahoy!

More to come...

So on the upper left of this blog you will see a widget that says "I'm losing weight at myfitnesspal." This is new. After a recent hospital stay I finally realized that I can no longer put this off and I'm on my journey to drop about 150 pounds/68.04 kg.

And this journey requires a good scale - but one that fits my budget. So I found one called The EatSmart Precision GetFit Digital Body Scale and as soon as it arrived I began the daily weigh-in. I started this part of the journey at 337.1 pounds/152.9 kg so when I hit my goal I will have shed the equivalent of a small person.

More on this in the next few days...

Ciao.

A Cuppa!

September 29th was International Coffee Day. Yum. Bunn, the makers of those wonderful industrial coffee makers you see in most restaurants (and of some great podmakers for home and office use as well) had a great little contest in honor of that day and I was one of the winners! Thanks Bunn!

Yesterday was Columbus Day here in the U.S. and The Coffee Artisan, which is where I order most of my coffee pods from had a nice little Columbus Day sale over the weekend. (I don't get anything for mentioning them as I'm not an affiliate.) I took advantage of the sale and stocked up on more pods. If you are looking for pods, pod brewers or even an re-useable K-Cup adapter (they do not sell K-Cups) then check them out. Their delivery is very fast and their customer service is wonderful!

Anyway both my coffee related prizes (filters, mug, scarf, recipe book and scoop) and my coffee order arrived today and so I'm a happy camper!

So - just wanted to post a little something today. I know I've been bad about keeping up. Just have gotten really busy trying to take care of things here at home and time just slips by. 

Hope everyone is well.

Peter

Come On Irene

This will be short and sweet...

OK - It's rather simple. There is a potentially devastating hurricane heading towards the Eastern U.S. Just a couple of days ago an earthquake hit in two places in the U.S. - Virginia and Colorado.
So by now you really should have done your homework and should know what to do but just in case...
First go to www.ready.gov and find the disaster of your choice (hurricane, flood, tornado, etc.) Actually first check to be sure you have an Emergency Supply Kit ready. You may have all or most of the items in your home already. (For example - I have sleep apnea and have to use distilled water in the humidifier. I always keep about 10 gallons around because it does go on sale once in a while and just resupplied - s0 I have water.)
Then go here: http://blog.fema.gov/2011/08/irene-update-4-those-along-east-coast.html - Find your state, open the website and Facebook/Twitter pages if applicable. Bookmark them. Bookmark them again on your phone. (Most phones - even if not smartphones have some internet capability which you can use even without a plan.)
(For those of you not in the Eastern U.S. you can find your local Emergency Management organizations by doing an internet search. A lot of this information is actually usable globally.) Also find out the locations of local shelters and, if your family could be separated, plan where you will meet or who the contact person will be that is out of the area affected.
Most of this is logical but in an emergency we tend to forget this stuff.
I should have put this together at an earlier date for posting but it kept sliding to the back burner.
Right now we are in the middle of a nasty thunderstorm and the power may go out so I'm going to log off and shut everything down.
Good luck everyone. 

CATCHING UP PART II

Well it’s been a while. Summer is here and in full swing and, as a result, some things fell by the wayside. Writing was one of them because after all I’d rather be enjoying nature and fresh air instead of sitting at the computer. (And yes I know I could take the computer or some paper and a pen/pencil with me and, in theory, write while outside but it really isn’t the same. I do have my writing routine of sorts and like to stick to that when I write.)

Combined with Mom’s Doctor appointments and Physical Therapy along with all the lovely events that take place up here during the summer time is the one commodity in very short supply! (See my post from May 29^th: THE TOURISTS ARE COMING! THE TOURISTS ARE COMING! for a list of just some of the events that happen up here during the summer.

Anyway – I have been enjoying my garden and have added some additional perennials to it including 4 Hibiscus and 3 peonies. Come winter I will protect them because sometimes it can get right to the lower tolerable level of coldness for them. An arborist told me that it is a good idea to protect perennials for the first two winters anyway in order to allow them to get proper root depth.

What else have I been up to?

Well – in addition to the ongoing clean up and sorting of stuff in the house I’ve had company. My friend David from New Jersey has been up a few times to help with the sorting and moving along with my buddy Chuck and 2 of his daughters. (The girls are 6 and 8 and like to visit with my Mom or watch DVDs.) We’ve also done “stuff.” David has seen a bit of the area and seems to really like it.

A few weeks ago I drove into Boston with Chuck and his 2 daughters for the day. (We had to pick up my car which my niece had borrowed for a couple of weeks for personal reasons.) We drove around a bit and had dinner at a place called James’s Gate Restaurant and Pub with my niece and her boyfriend.  The little ones had a great time.

My college buddy (also named David) showed up for a few days as well. We drove around and tried a few restaurants that I hadn’t been to in a long time – one of which I won’t go back to as it has really gone downhill. 

We took Mom up to Williamstown one day so she could see the Pissarro’s People exhibition at the Clark.  

That was all Mom could handle so I stayed with her while David roamed the permanent collection as well. 

 On the way home we stopped briefly at my friend Louise’s home which is also a Bed and Breakfast called Berkshire Shirakaba just to admire the view. 

Mom and I have had dinner with friends a few times but during the summer it does get a bit difficult sometimes what with all the tourists. Funny thing about restaurants – their capacity does not expand when they get busy!

So I just wanted to give you all a quick update and this is it but there is more to come!

What are you up to this summer?

THE ORIGINS OF FATHER'S DAY

Today, June 20^th 2011 is Father’s Day here in the United States. I say here because the day is celebrated on different dates around the globe.  While in some countries it is a proper holiday with meaning pertinent to that country’s history, in other countries it is not even recognized.

How this holiday got started has several different sources. One source claims that it was originally a pagan holiday honoring the father-in-the-sky that thanked him for giving us, the children-on-earth the gifts of sun and rain. Animal sacrifices were made with colorful ribbons around their necks and over time transitioned (through the intervention of the church) to a gift of garlands given from sons to fathers. This could explain the tradition we have here of giving a father a tie on Father’s Day. 

However for many years Father’s Day was not even known here.  In 1908 Dr. Robert Webb and Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton organized a service to celebrate the lives of 210 fathers who had been lost in the Monogah Mining Disaster on December 6^th 1907. This was a one-time celebration and the state of West Virginia did not even register the holiday at the time. Today Fairmont West Virginia is officially known as the home of the first Father’s Day service.

Independently Sonora Dodd in Spokane Washington created her own celebration of Father’s Day. Influenced by the recent enactment of Mother’s Day Ms. Dodd wanted to do something to honor her father who had single-handedly raised his six children after his wife died in childbirth.

The first bill to try and give Father’s Day recognition was introduced in Congress in 1913. It failed. In 1916 President Wilson was in Spokane and he wanted to make it official. Fearing commercialization Congress refused. (OMG – You mean for once – and maybe the only time – Congress was right?)

In 1924 President Coolidge recommended it be observed but would not issue a national proclamation and a National Father’s Day Committee was formed in New York City to explore the idea.  It would be another  48 years before the holiday became official.

In 1957 Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine presented a proposal that accused Congress of ignoring fathers while honoring mothers and this led to President Lyndon Johnson issuing the first national proclamation of Father’s Day in 1966. Six years later in 1972 President Richard Nixon signed a bill making Father’s Day a national holiday.

So to all those fathers and father figures out there – Happy Father’s Day!

CATCHING UP

So first I want to apologize for the lack of a Foodie Friday last week. On Thursday night around 20:10 hours (8:10 pm) the electricity went out in our area due to a rather severe storm. Many towns lost their power. We were lucky in that it was restored after 23 hours. However at that time our internet, cable television and landline phone were still out due to downed trees and tumbled line poles for another day. Even today as I write this (Sunday) there are still crews cleaning up the debris and every hour or so a truck goes by loaded with logs from the storm. 

Please note that the two photos below were taken the afternoon following the storm and are on a main road that got cleared first. However this type of trees moved to the side of the road scene can be seen all over the place. 

Tumbled Tree As A Result Of Storm

More Tumbled Tree 

The biggest problem I had with this storm was that I suffer from fairly severe sleep apnea and being without my bi-pap machine for even a single night can wreck havoc with my sleeping and well-being especially when the air is as humid and thick as it was during the storms.  Ironically there is a positive lesson to be learned from the experience and I now have an inverter for my car that I will leave in it.

In addition whenever there is a storm warning going forward I will make sure the car is filled to the top with gasoline so that if there is a re-occurrence and the weather is that bad I can go to the car and set up my bi-pap. Perhaps not the most environmentally friendly thing to do but as a diabetic I have to take care of myself and I simply cannot deal with another night like the one I just had. I am still finding that my thinking is a bit foggy and I feel very out of it 3 days after the fact. Besides – if I’m not in good shape then I cannot take proper care of Mom.

Yesterday I did attend a day-long conference held by Taking Control of Your Diabetes in Albany NY. This is one of several conferences they are holding around the United States this year. While some of the presentations were a basic refresher of things I already knew, there was some new stuff as well. As for the refresher information it is always good to have a review of things like that as one gets a bit sloppy when they’ve been doing something for a long time. As a diabetic this type of refresher is probably a very smart thing to do (as for anyone with some sort of chronic condition or disease.) So if you have diabetes or even just know someone with diabetes you might want to check out their website and consider going to one of their conferences.

Today I got Mom out of the house for a few hours. I took her to brunch and then to get her hair done.

Tomorrow I’ll be going down to New York City for a few days. Wednesday and Thursday is the 140 Characters Conference which is put together by my good friend Jeff Pulver. This conference is a wonderful opportunity for people to exchange ideas and network with each other as well as learn about the multitude of different ways that people can use social media these days. To learn a bit more about this event as envisioned by Jeff watch this video by another friend of mine, Geo Geller.

(Geo is quite the personality and has several websites worth visiting. I'll probably do a blog post on him at one point if he agrees to be a subject.)

You can learn more about the event and get your tickets at 140Conf.com  

I hope to see/meet some of you there if you can attend. If you cannot attend because you are too far away you will be able to view it here on Ustream. Having had the opportunity to experience several of the 140 Conferences live as well as via Ustream I can only say that while it is great to watch the speakers via Ustream there is a very special feeling about being there in person for the conference. So if you can go to one you should. 

For those of you in education, there will be a special 140 Conference - Education focusing in New York City on August 2nd and 3rd. By the way – these 140 Conferences and their associated meet-ups as well as 140Local have happened all over the world. So there are plenty of opportunities to get to one.

Through the 140 Conference experience I have made many new friends. By now I have met some of them in real life while others I have only spoken to via Skype or by tweets.  However the shared experience has created a special bond that goes beyond Facebook or Twitter.

My Mom will be coming down to NY with me. While she probably won’t be attending the 140 Conference, she is looking forward to seeing some friends and family while we are there.  I am also hoping to see some friends that I haven’t seen in well over 30 years.

We are also planning on visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan. Mom has not been back in New York City in over 10 years so she is really getting a bit excited. 

While the trip will probably exhaust her quite a bit, this time it will be a good exhaustion and she will be happy when we return home.

OK – I am a bit tired and tomorrow (actually later today at this point) is going to be a long day. So I’ll say good night. I don’t know how often or even if I’ll be blogging while down in New York as I will be rather busy in my so-called free time getting together with friends but we’ll see. (By the way - if any of you reading this are in the NYC area - drop me a line with contact information and maybe we can also meet for a cuppa.)

Hey – ever wonder why it is called “free” time if one is so busy doing stuff? Just saying!

FOODIE FRIDAY - INTERESTING MIX OF OBSERVANCES INVOLVING DOUGHNUTS

The first Friday in June is National Doughnut Day here in the United States. Many doughnut shops will be offering a free doughnut to customers either with the purchase of a beverage (after all – they are in business to make money) or with a donation to a charity. The charity that usually benefits from National Doughnut Day is the Salvation Army which started the tradition as a Chicago Salvation Army fundraiser back in 1938.

A cup of coffee or a glass of milk for the younger set combined with that deep-fried sweetened round piece of dough filled with cream or jelly, perhaps topped with glaze, nuts, sprinkles or frosting and oh-so-heavenly smelling as it comes out of the bakery is an invitation to overindulgence. Its ubiquitous presence in workplace break rooms, on coffee carts, in cafeteria lines, etc. make them as hard to avoid as a mosquito on a sweaty summer evening. I have personally seen people down 6 doughnuts at one sitting. Fortunately my tooth is not that sweet. My record is two – an acceptable if slightly overindulgent amount for an overweight diabetic.

These calorie-laden drugs in food form (for they could be viewed as being that because they are so addictive) originally gained popularity during World War 1 when the Salvation Army sent small teams overseas to set up small areas where service personnel could get a cup of coffee, something to eat, stamps and supplies to write letters home, etc. The teams consisted of 2 men and 4 women. The women provided a female touch of mothering to the boys in uniform. Very quickly everyone realized that getting consistent fresh food – especially at the front lines wasn’t going to happen. So pastries rapidly became the food offered. Freshly made at many locations it turned out that doughnuts were the easiest to make and lasted the longest as opposed to pies and cakes.

So – raise your free doughnuts in thanks to our servicemen and women today and enjoy.  

In 2007 the United States Federal Government declared that the first week in June be declared "National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Awareness Week".  The average response time for first responders can be up to 15 minutes if you are in a rural enough area. This is important to know – along knowing CPR and how to use an AED if one is available.

Why? Because after four minutes without any oxygen a brain begins to die while after eight minutes it passes the point of no return and irreversible brain death commences.  So you can see where learning CPR and how to use an AED can make a huge difference in a person having a positive outcome when an incident occurs.

Many places offer CPR and AED training. To find one in your area contact a local hospital, high school or college to see if they offer them as extension classes as well as your local Y, Red Cross or Heart Association affiliate. In more rural areas you may want to contact your local fire department or police station. Remember that you should take a refresher course every year or two as well to be sure you still have the skills.

After the course you might even want to find out about becoming a volunteer first responder in your community.

So – you have this interesting combination in June of doughnuts and CPR.

Is it coincidence or just clever marketing? You have to decide that.

Either way you have to admit that the doughnut (along with all the other greasy fatty food that is out there) is a great reason to go and learn CPR as well as how to use an AED if they are available in public places in your state. The life you save may well be that of a loved one.

JUST A PIECE OF INSPIRATION!

As my Wednesday starts I want to share with you some commercials that I find very inspirational. If more people followed the lessons shown here the world would be a much better place! (Note - I'm using links instead of embedding them due to copyright restrictions.)

First - my newest favorite: The Concert
This one is definitely a keeper. Think about how often we tell someone "You can't do that." Then watch this. Later on today - keep it in mind!

Although I'm not the world's greatest sports fan the message in this commercial is another one that I've always tried to live by: The Umpire

Compassion is something I've always had - some people would say to a fault. I disagree. Compassion can never by had to a fault: The Taxi

Whenever I travel and stay in a hotel I usually bring my own soap/shampoo. But, since the hotel will usually throw out the soaps and shampoos once I leave I also take them home and, when I have a bag full of them take them to the local women and children's shelter. This commerical is based on the same idea. Are you doing anything to help those less fortunate? Generosity  

Having many friends who are teachers and a brother who just retired from teaching I can tell you that fortunately for us there are a lot of everyday heroes like them - be they teachers, volunteer firefighters, emts, ambulance drivers and more . Have you thanked one of your everyday heroes today? Everyday Heroes

And, of course, there is nothing more valuable in life than friends - regardless of their background and your political differences: Old Friends

Hope you all get out of these commercials as much as I did. Please share them with your friends.

THE END OF THE MONTH

Wow – a whole month!

Like a great dessert this post will be a small portion and a bit sweet.

While there certainly were days that I thought “will this month never end?”  along with “oh man – what am I going to write about today?” there were many more days where I actually had to filter ideas and try to decide what to write about.

I entered this blogathon because one of my godchildren in Australia inspired me to do so (thanks ‘Riss) and because I had hit a real rut in my writing. It was not actual writer’s block but rather that I just wasn’t looking forward to it all that much.

While I had played with blogging on a couple of my sites I really never got into it preferring to write other things some of which saw light of publication and some things which sit on my hard drive hoping that they will see some action at some point.

 I did do some recipes on the old AOL which were more like mini-blog posts back in the days when I was a community leader there and today I will visit any number of recipe sites and see them posted there. I suppose I will gather them all and repost them here or on one of my other blogs as well (once I figure out what I want those other blogs to be when they grow up.) Eventually Foodie Fridays will go wherever the recipes end up as well.

By the way – in case you are interested the other blogs are/will be located at From The Gatehouse and Pete’s Place here on blogspot as well as at Join Me For A Cuppa and Whitestone Photo on the web. Don’t worry – I’ll post links here as well as on my Facebook and Twitter accounts when I post any new blogs.

Now that the blogathon is done I will also get back to maintaining iPeter.net my disaster site.

I can always use help with iPeter.net. If there is a disaster that takes place anywhere in the world and you know of organizations that are coordinating or helping  in other ways with disaster relief I would really appreciate it if you would share that information with me.  I try to find out as much information as I can whenever there is a disaster but some of the information is suspect and cannot be confirmed while other information is just hard to come by. So all assistance that any of you can give me on this I really would appreciate.

However first I’ll be taking a much needed two or three day break from writing because I have neglected some other things that have to be taken care of and need to catch up with them.

What's been a lot of fun has been viewing the stats for the blog just to see what countries you, my readers, come from. So far I have seen readers from Australia, Canada, Chili, Mexico, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey,The United Kingdom and the United States which makes it rather exciting. 

So my friends – as they say “The meaning of life is ‘42’ and thanks for all the fish!” I’m not saying goodbye but rather raising a cuppa in your direction until we meet again!

WORDLE

Today is one of several "theme days" offered during this year's blogathon. While I haven't participated in the other theme days because I really wanted to concentrate on free-form writing of my own ideas, I did want to check out today's theme which is "Wordles." After doing so I decided that this could be fun and decided to participate.   

So what’s a Wordle you may ask?

A Wordle is a tag cloud (also known as a word cloud).

Tag clouds are a way of visualizing the frequency in which certain words, keywords or metadata are used and can be utilized as an aid to navigating a website.

The original use of tag clouds on a major website can be traced back to Flickr, Technorati and Del.icio.us in the early 2000’s.

While the original enthusiasm for tag clouds plummeted in the mid-2000’s further software development that led to the use of visualizing word counts in free-form natural texts and brought back their popularity as new ways were thought of to make them truly useful.

           Wordle was created by IBM senior software engineer Jonathan Feinberg in June of 2008 and rapidly found a number of ways to be used in different fields including education and art.

           According to the Wordle website, “Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends.”

          Just playing around with Wordle for a bit was a lot of fun and I fully intend to explore it further as I can see many uses for it moving forward. I strongly suggest that you visit the site and play around with it.

           In the meantime here’s my Wordle as my May 30^th blog post:

THE TOURISTS ARE COMING! THE TOURISTS ARE COMING!

Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of the tourist season here in the Berkshires. And we welcome them with open arms (and sometimes a bit of grumbling...) 

I live in a very beautiful area of the US. Of course I think that most areas of any country have their own special beauty but, being slightly biased, I think my area has a slight edge.

Of course we welcome tourists. A part of our area's economy depends upon it. We are located almost equidistant from Boston Mass, Burlington VT and New York City NY. I guess the grumbling comes when some tourists treat us as uneducated hicks (we aren't) or servants - on the street (again - we aren't) or just plain old figure they are on vacation so they leave their manners at home. (Simply put - DON'T DO THAT!) I've had people walk into my house because they thought it looked really nice and they wanted to see what was inside. Hmmm - I have signs posted at the entryways to my drive that say "No Trespassing." Now tell me - who is uneducated? I live 1/4 mile from a popular concert venue. When there is a popular concert I've had people park their cars in my driveway without asking for permission. (Yes - I've had them towed. Remember - my driveway is marked with a sign.) I'm not a nasty person and I do understand that I live in a tourist area. During the summer I expect that it will take a lot longer to get places and that I have to plan my grocery shopping around "tourist schedules," etc. meaning go shopping in the early morning or during a concert and get home by intermission. That's OK. And if you enter my property and ask me if you can park your car there during the concert I'll probably say yes. But don't take liberties like that unless you know me. OK - enough with the rant.

Originally inhabited by the Mahicans, the first English settlers appeared in the Berkshires in the early 1700’s.

The original British settlers had farms, quarries, sawmills and textile mills. Potash production and glassworks were also early industries. At one point in the 1700’s iron ore was found leading to the establishment of several ironworks in the county as well.

In the 1800’s the area also saw the beginning of an influx of artists and writers including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Ward Beecher, Fanny Kemble, Catherine Sedgwick, Edith Wharton and Herman Melville to name but a few. In fact Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick in this landlocked area of the country!

The site of Pittsfield High School was originally the farm of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s family!

            Since then a number of artists, poets, actors, musicians, sports stars etc. have all been born or made homes up here – either part-time or full-time. Some of them include the late actor Christopher Reeves, musician Yo-Yo Ma, singer/songwriter James Taylor, poet Rosemary Starace, the late writer William Shirer, actress Elizabeth Banks, Arlo Guthrie, painter Norman Rockwell, sculptor Daniel Chester French, actress Maureen Stapleton, actor Matthew Perry, baseball player Dan Duquette, baseball player Jim Bouton and many more.

            The first of the large estates had construction commence in 1844. From 1880 through 1920 the wealthy managed to transform this sleepy area into a Gilded Age resort similar to Saratoga Springs NY and Newport Rhode Island. As these millionaires built their “cottages” for entertaining parts of the area developed a “hoity-toity” reputation. Ironically land in some towns went for as much as $20,000 an acre (remember this was in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s) while in a neighboring town it might only cost a few dollars an acre.  Today the cottages that have survived are museums, hotels or performing arts venues.

            Today the Berkshires are a very popular tourist destination for people of all backgrounds.

            You like to hike? Hiking trails abound here including a segment of the Appalachian Trail. Into nature? In addition to several Audubon maintained facilities there are the Berkshire Botanical Garden and the Hebert Arboretum for nature lovers. The Housatonic River and the many lakes in the region offer canoeing, kayaking, fishing, etc. There are campgrounds galore as well. Bicycles are welcome and the country roads make for a wonderful ride.

Photo postcard taken by my father in the 1950's.

Into something a bit more upscale? The area is famous for the performing arts and visual arts with such well known venues such as the Barrington Stage Company, the Berkshire Theatre Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, Shakespeare and Company, Tanglewood, the Williamstown Theatre Festival and more all based here. It is also home to the annual Berkshire International Film Festival.

Museums include Chesterwood, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the Williams College Museum of Art and the Norman Rockwell Museum are complimented by a large number of art studios and galleries that are open to the public. 

            Prefer historical sites? How about visiting the Hancock Shaker Village or Mount Greylock? You might also want to visit the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace, the Colonel John Ashley House, Naumkeag, The Mount - home of Edith Wharton and many other places.

Just want to hang out on a porch? Summer rentals are more popular every year and there are even timeshares available.

Spa fanatics will love Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires while people into yoga will prefer Kripalu. And don't forget The Kushi Institute for people into macrobiotics.

But not to worry. The Berkshires is not just a health food destination. With a wide variety of restaurants run by people from all over the world disbursed throughout the county you won’t lack for different types of food. Many places will even make you picnic boxes to take to an event.

If you’ve ever handled a United States currency note (i.e. a dollar bill) then you have a connection to the Berkshires. Crane Paper Company manufactures the majority of paper used for United States currency right here in Berkshire County.

            Interestingly, despite being home to the largest currency paper manufacturer, the Berkshires also has its own local currency called BerkShares. Usable as real currency by participating stores, banks, etc. they have become a very viable alternative to US currency because one purchases them at a discount over US dollars. So, to use the example from their site, “You go to the bank to purchase BerkShares to spend at a local restaurant. You go in with 95 federal dollars and exchange them for 100 BerkShares. You go to dinner, and the total cost comes to $100. The restaurant accepts BerkShares in full, so you pay entirely in BerkShares. Therefore, you've spent 95 federal dollars and received a $100 meal - a five percent discount for you. The owner of the restaurant now has 100 BerkShares. They decide that they need to deposit them for federal dollars and return them to the bank. When they bring them to the bank, the banker deposits the 100 BerkShares you spent on dinner and gives the restaurant $95 federal dollars, the same 95 dollars that you had originally exchanged for BerkShares. The end result? You receive a five percent discount because of the initial exchange, but the same $95 you originally traded for BerkShares all goes to the business where you spent those BerkShares.”  BerkShares are available to anyone who wants to buy them at several local banks.

The first street to have an AC transmission system allowing the distribution of electric power over large areas using a transformer was here in the Berkshires. The demonstration took place in Great Barrington where William Stanley the inventor of this system lived. He lit offices and stores along the main street. His design became the basis for all transformers and the AC distribution system formed the basis of  electrical power distribution. His Electric Manufacturing Company eventually moved to Pittsfield and eventually became General Electric (GE).   

And that all-American pastime baseball – let us not forget that. The earliest reference to baseball was published as a Pittsfield by-law in 1791. It prohibited anyone from playing “baseball” within 80 years of the new meeting house in Pittsfield and was written after someone broke the meeting house windows in a game. 

1791 Bylaw Stating In Part " that no Person, an Inhabitant of said Town, shall be permitted to play at any Game called Wicket, Cricket, Baseball, Batball, Football, Cat, Fives or any other Game or Games with Balls within the Distance of Eighty Yards from said Meeting House " 

In 1859, the first intercollegiate baseball game was played in Pittsfield, MA and the area has provided many professional baseball players as well. Also located in Pittsfield is Wahconah Park – one of the last ballparks in the US with a wooden grandstand. Built in 1919 and seating 4500 people, the stadium has had a variety of associations including being a minor league affiliate of the New York Mets and the Houston Astros and many professional Major League Baseball players have come out of these teams. 

This scenic area boasts year round activities with the busiest seasons being summer and winter.

Now I’ve been writing about Berkshire County but the term “The Berkshires” has slowly spilled over to include parts of New York State, Northern Connecticut and Southern Vermont.  These places also have some wonderful activities and places to visit but I’m still a bit biased!

Well – I could go on but instead I’d just like to invite you to visit the Berkshires. It’s truly a wonderous vacation spot.

            So let me know when you’re coming up and we’ll meet for a cuppa someplace.