Evian
by Jerry Harris

I am drinking a short glass bottle of evian water. It is something new for me and quite refreshing after a day of drinking coffee. This was a very cold day with snow and ice and I thought the coffee would help me through it since I had to go out in the cold and work. I'm not sure if I just used that as an excuse to drink as much coffee as I wanted. Looking back I did drink a lot; so much I give myself a D rating in the healthly eating scale.

I did drink my gallon of water though.

Let it snow. Let it snow. But ice is another matter. It snowed today and now it is sleeting along with freezing rain. Both are the culprit of downed power lines in these parts of the counties. I have been plugged in today online for most of the day. I guess I want to get some things done before the power goes out. At least that is my rationalization. We found some treasures yesterday. One treasure was a hearty iron and wood chest that was dirty but very well preserved. Greg cleaned it up and he loves it. Another found treasure is a large rocker for the porch made in Yugoslavia. I was happy to find some skeleton keys. As for living in the moment, I'm here at the house with the snow and ice just being as it was, is, were.

Later.

Another, Wake Up America
by Jerry Harris

Ben informed me of this article. Should I be surprised? I don't think so.

On the Media: "Intelligence Authorization Act"

Here is an interesting article about the true state of the Union called America. Read it quick because who knows how long it will be available.

I just had a great dinner. Unleveavened bread, hummus, and a hot bowl of chili. Hot tea during the meal made it perfect. Thanks baby.

I've been so depressed at the current state of affairs. Well, really I just have not had anything to say here. I have been reading some other blogs and trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong with mine. It is amazing that so many people are blogging and putting up huge essays that they expect people to read. I read a few lines and if my interest peaks, I move on. One blog made me hangout for a good while. I did not read a lot of the postings but the photographs made me want to see more. I stumbled on to the site from a spiritual website so that added to the intrigue for me. The site was cocky bastard.

When does the short term end and the long term begin?

News Connection: The Missing Headlines
by Jerry Harris

Am I concerned about two stories yesterday about the Bush regime? You bet. One story comes from TV and since I donít watch TV I was unable to see the video of the story but I was able to read the transcript. The story concerns the former Treasury Secretary Paul OíNeil and his admission that the Bush regime (Cheney, Rove, Rumsfield and Rice) was planning to attack Iraq from day one back in 2000. The funny thing is today the Treasury Department announced that they want to probe the release of this information not whether or not it was true. Bush was asked about it and of course he diverted the question. Hmmm, must be true. The other story is about a document released by the Army War College that attacks the Bush regime on the war on terrorism and how the attack on Iraq was a big mistake. This story relates to something I have said many times; about the vagueness of a war on terrorism.

Unclaimed
by Jerry Harris

Early this morning as I was on my daily walk near my home along the Eno River, I found a jar of pickles. In the midst of this beautiful wilderness area, here is a jar of pickles. I stop and observe it. Why does this jar of pickles interest me? I notice the brand, the label and the glass. The jar looks unopened. I wonder how it got here. Is it here for me to claim? The jar must belong to someone who will surely come looking for it. Do I take it or leave it? If I leave it some kids may come along and smash the jar releasing pickles, juice and broken glass into the river? Could this be a trap? Someone could have placed the jar as a BB gun target. If I grab the jar I could be shot. Wow, what a dilemma.

News Connection: The Missing Headlines
by Jerry Harris

Yesterday there were two interesting stories on All Things Considered. One article was on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and what has been found to date. The other article is about the cost of the war in Iraq to US military personnel. The contrast of knowledge Americans have of the number of soldiers who have died versus the number of injured is typical of an administration with something to hide. The NY Times reported a quiet exodus of WMD hunters today.

It is unknown how long the links will be available.

Moon Winter Full
by Jerry Harris

The day started with a full winter moon. The moon had beamed all night. I pulled into a parking lot, grabbed a camera, a tripod and went in search of a good spot. It was cold and my fingers hurt as I screwed the camera on the tripod. As I looked around I saw a blanket of clouds approaching. I fretted, "These clouds will kill my shot." There was no time to waste. I crouched on the ground with a retracted tripod. The clouds moved in as I tried to frame the perfect shot. My knees ached from the icy dew on the grassy hill. While I fumbled with knobs on the tripod, the clouds seemed to accelerate across the sky. If I was going to get a shot it had to be now. I took a deep breath to just let go and fired the shutter. In a blink the moon was gone.

From the garden

Happy New Year!

It was a warm day yesterday. Although it is winter many folks were out taking advantage of the spring like temperatures around 72 degrees. The evening was spent in a movie theatre something I rarely do. Last week I saw that The Matrix Revolutions was released in IMAX and was playing for the last week in Raleigh. On Friday we made plans to go on Sunday. On Saturday night we watched The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded to prepare. It was great to see the whole trilogy together. It was really cool seeing the film in IMAX. There was a lot going on and I tried hard to take it in as it came but my thoughts would want to wonder when can I see it again and then I would miss something.

After the film, we went to eat at Moe’s after picking up a dozen of hot doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. Yum. It was the first time to Moe’s’ but a pleasantly repeat visit to the doughnut shop. We are always looking for places that serve healthy food without having to tip. We don’t have anything against tipping it just adds to the price of the meal and we don’t need to be served or pretend that we do. Maybe I will compile a list of good eats that meet these criteria.