General

A new sight

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November 7, 2007  12:24PM   39  61%  34%  26dewpoint  5mph  windrose ENE  Ordinary Time  Waning Crescent of the Blood Moon

These entries have first been a word file, .doc, before moving into this new version of Ancientrails.  Bill Schmidt plans to change my underlying program to WordPress, away from the older version of FrontPage in which  all the previous have been created.  This change happens right now, as I write this, so I can’t enter text directly into the website until late Saturday or Sunday, if all things go well.

One reason I look forward to the new version of Ancientrails is discussion.  WordPress makes that function easy, so Ancientrails can become a two-way dialogue for those who would like that opportunity.

Found a few more stray stories sitting in other files, so I printed those out before I went to Costco. 

I have to make a Costco run now and then because we buy dog food, treats, Propel and water softener salt in bulk.  We also buy gas through the Costco cash card.  All told it’s nickels and dimes, yes, but they add up and exceed the $50 annual fee.  Not to mention, by the way, that Costco shows up on Consumer Reports as the cheapest place in the US to buy such items as televisions. 

Both dog food and the salt come in 40 pound bags so picking it up, putting it on a cart, loading it in the truck, unloading and putting the salt in the water softener all call on those muscles I develop when I work out.

Kate’s sick today as the annual parade of viruses begins at our home.  She doesn’t get sick often, but she does get exposed to everything nasty out there, and she gets her exposure from kids, for whom hand washing and other hygiene practices are still new.

Weather +Climate

For casting weather

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 28 75% 36% dew point21 bar falls 0mph windrose N Ordinary Time Waning Crescent Blood Moon New Moon in 1 days

Today I finished creating files for the major magazine markets for science fiction and fantasy, the kind of material I write. Over the next few days I will finish edits for all my stories on hand and match them with the markets. A high number of the magazines only accept submissions by e-mail. This makes the whole process easier for me. This feels like work, slogging through the tall grass, but it also feels good. The way it works is this: write, revise, rewrite, submit. Repeat. I’ve primarily done part 1, write. Adding the other three will turn me into a professional. About time.
The weather occupies my spare intellectual effort at the moment. I’m trying to learn enough to do my own forecasting. I already have a sophisticated weather station and subscriptions to a professional weather service and an amateur weathercasters website. A book written by Tim Vasquez, Weather Forecasting, contains the preliminary information. It’s somewhat complicated, but I need the challenge.  
The forecasting occupies a part of my growing interest in understanding my locale, right here. I’ve spent some time on the soil, what’s beneath the surface and what grows from it. I’ve learned some about the geology and the hydrology, but very little about the meteorology. So, I plan to remedy that.
Kate earned a big, honking bonus over the last quarter and she’s like a kid in a candy store. It’s fun to see her so excited.