ARRRGGHH

My annual renewal of this domain is April 11, but Google ... bless their darling hearts and greedy wallets ... wants me to establish an account with Google Apps for Work, set myself up as an administrator, and tell them what the company website is, and how many employees need e-mail accounts.

I tried several times to establish an account, following their directions, and they won't recognize this blog site as a "domain". And they insist that the annual renewal ($10/year) is now a monthly fee of $5.

I don't know if this page will disappear, or if they'll just put "blogspot" back into the URL.

Sigh... They really shouldn't mess with a blogger who's been on the fence about quitting anyway. Know what I mean?

There's a Sense of Calm

Perhaps it's an odd sense, up here, but still ...

The national news is full of the cackles and crowing of the progressives, over the impending destruction of the U.S. economy, and the dire predictions & stern bleating from the ineffectual Republicans. Meh.

It all seems to be so far away, these days. The more frenetic the events in the Lower 48, the quieter it is here. It feels much like the scene in Titanic when the ship is about to slip beneath the waves for the last time: there's a hush that occurs at such a time, as people are suddenly reminded of the transience of our existence. The U.S.A. may or may not survive this wrenching turn toward socialism. It's a lead-pipe cinch that it won't look like it used to, because it has already changed into something our grandparents wouldn't have recognized. Soon we may not recognize it, either.

So why are we insulated? I'm not saying we'd be unaffected, but we do have a bit of a separate economy (though based on the same currency), and our power grid is of the stand-alone variety. We'll give it a go, if needs must, as we have always been isolated to a large extent from the rest of the states. I don't imagine for one second that it would be easy, comfortable, or desirable. But we would struggle on.

In the meantime, we go about our daily existence. Snowy roads, cold temps, northern lights, moose in traffic, and all the other things that make life in Alaska an adventure.

In the meantime, I'll keep my eyes on my God, and not on elected officials 4,000 miles away.

It's a Quiet Day

The temp is hanging right at 32°, but the clouds are intermittent with some peeks of sunshine from time to time. It was frosty when we first went out this morning ... or rather, the streets had frosty patches, and cornering was an adventure.

But it's clearing now, and the forecast formerly containing hints of snow now calls only for scattered bouts of freezing rain and/or ice pellets.

Whatever.

We did the weekly shopping, had lunch at the hotel's cafe' where Younger Daughter is serving as hostess (it's slow season in the pastry kitchen), and picked up a couple of movies with which we hope to divert ourselves this afternoon.

Which movies?  Left Behind and How to Train Your Dragon 2. Like I said, we hope they're diversionary; in the case of the second one, we hope it's funny. The first one was (very) light entertainment.

Yeah, I know, but there's nothing else available right now.  At least, nothing else we haven't already seen.

And we've seen each of the DVDs and Blu-Ray movies we already have so many times that we can watch them with the sound turned off, and recite the dialogue from memory.

* * * * *

On a happy note, gas has dropped to an average of $2.66/gallon here. Makes my wallet happy. :)

Maybe Later

I've had to switch dentists again; this time, it's not due to insurance. Primary reason is because the last guy didn't know how to fix a broken tooth.

Srsly.

Apparently he was a graduate of Bob's School of Dentistry, and they didn't cover that in-between classes on animal husbandry & agriculture.

I'll be in "the chair" at 7 a.m., so posting will be somewhat delayed.

Later!

Boy, 14, Aces the SAT

California boy, 14, gets perfect score on SAT

I can't remember what my score on the SAT was (give me a break; it was in 1980 ... I think). All I remember was the letter telling me the score said I was 150 points higher than the average score for that university.

On the other hand, it doesn't matter ... now. :)

Maybe I Shouldn't Be Crunching Numbers Today

because, for whatever reason, I woke up with a definite & undeniable need to stay in bed. Probably isn't the best day for looking at spreadsheets.

My "ain't gonna get much accomplished today" moment came early, today (yawn!).  Coffee isn't helping ... may just sit and stare.

If I had a porch, I'd be on it right now.

"A" for Apple, "Meh" for Monday

It's 28 degrees, and the windshields were frosted this morning. AccuHunch tells us it's snowing along the upper Alaska Highway, and the temps will remain in the 30s along the North Slope.

I'm having a tough time mustering any enthusiasm this a.m., so will just go about those things which are needful ... my muse must be musing elsewhere.

Facebook, Whatever

For those very, very few of you who a) knew about it or b) cared, I've just deleted my Facebook account.  Too much work for WAY too little content, and I'm spread too thin these days, anyway.

For the nonce*, I'll still be here.




p.s. There's yer 25-cent word for the day.

Gota keep on rollin'

Nothing much happening this morning, other than the same old, same old.

I haven't said anything recently about new followers, but want to welcome them to my little corner of the intarwebz. Welcome to caterina serra, Casey, Bragon Dorn, lisa.berry01, The Simple Woman, dakotas5, 45er, Well Seasoned Fool, and ShallNotBeInfringed.

I'm mulling details for the next chapter of "MHI Alaska: A Dish Served Cold", so there's that to look forward to ... if you've been among those who read it.

Thanks for stopping by. Oh ... and bonus points for anyone who guesses the origin of the title of this post.

Friday Morning

It's 2 degrees & snowing lightly. Traffic was sparse on the way in, proving that many working stiffs were more clever than I about getting the day off.

My daughters took me to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie last night: I think it's better than the first one, especially the scenes where Sherlock & Prof. Moriarty are verbally dueling, face to face. The suspense is well-played, with just enough comic relief to keep you from being overwhelmed by the fast-paced dramatic sequences ... and there's a fantastic revamp of the "that's not a gun, THIS is a gun" meme. Twice.

Thanks to everyone who commented on the posts about Alaska, over the last three days. My co-author is working on a website-slash-forum, and I'll pass that URL along as soon as it's ready. In the meantime, if you have any questions, my e-mail address in in my profile.

I expect my office to be very slow, this morning, and will probably leave before lunch. My outlook will be much improved by walking out the front door, I suspect - not that I have a negative attitude; I'd just rather not be in the office today.


Have a safe holiday weekend, folks!

Weather Colder & Gas Goes Down

It's 8 degrees out, and AccuHunch predicts wind chills of 20 to 30 below, later this morning. That's probably the most exciting thing about today, so I won't bore you with the rest.

My friend Dana in Missouri sent a photo yesterday of a gas station sign, advertising regular gas for $2.99 a gallon. That's a distant dream for Alaskans. Our gas went down three cents, yesterday, to only $3.91.

We're Up, But the Temp is Down

to 8 degrees, this morning.

Other than the brief weather report, I've got nothing this morning. Please check out the fine folks on my sidebar, and I hope your Monday is a good one.

There Are Many Things to Write About

but I lack the desire (today) to begin. Lots going on, topics a-plenty, but not the motivation. Sorry, folks, but nothing to see here.

Y'all come back now ... hear?

A Day of Rest

Yesterday's weather was a strange mix of sun, wind, clouds, and eventually a cold rain. The temp climbed to about 56 at the airport, but never got above 52 at my place. This morning, it's 44, cloudy and still. AccuHunch is calling for 'numerous showers' today, so we'll see.

Today we'll be attending the annual company picnic for my wife's outfit, at the zoo. Wisecracks aside, the Alaska Zoo has a nice pastoral setting with a large pavilion and a covered room next to the greenhouse. Last year's get-together was at the same place, and it was quite nice. The food will be provided by a local eatery which is located in a replica of an old mining mill house. The food is pretty good, too.

I had thought about heading to the range today, but am having trouble mustering the motivation to get going. Since I'd be by myself, it won't hurt anyone if I don't make it until next week.

Have a great Sunday, folks.

Speaking of Timing ... 2nd Blogiversary

Yesterday was the two-year anniversary of starting this blog.

Last year, I missed it by nearly a week. Perhaps, assuming there is a third anniversary, I'll actually mention it on the day it occurs. Or not. It's not like there's a party or anything.


I have learned a few things along the way:

a. when contacted by another blogger who has millions of hits, don't go all fan-boy on them;

b. don't be afraid to expand, experiment, and talk about lots of things. I started this little corner of teh int@rw3bz to tell my friends about Alaska. I still do, but can't help ranting about stupidity in government (that's redundant), especially at the General Gov't level.

and finally,
c. don't get all hung up on the hit counter. If you start chasing hits, you'll forget why you started the silly thing in the first place.

Rainy Days & Mondays

With apologies to the 2A Roundup, if you've come here looking for the video, I took it down. No one left any comments, and I suspect no one wanted to see it that badly. If you do, you can find it at here at Theo Spark's place.

* * * * *

It has been grey and cloudy all day, and rained steadily for a good portion of the afternoon. The temp is near normal, though, at 62, so no one is complaining much.

Well, maybe a little, but it could be a LOT worse. It could be icy rain with snow in the mountains, like last July. No, thanks.

* * * * *

The media reps are wiping the spittle off their collective chins, with Sarah Palin fading (temporarily) into yesterday's news. I'm sure the frenzied mob insanity will resurface as soon as she does, but for now ... it's kind of nice. Various comments today have been cautiously optimistic that perhaps things will remain a bit more settled, with a new Governor in place.

The manic reporting of all things Sarah was embarrassing and unbecoming a profession that used to be respectable, but it's obvious the so-called "reporters" are going to have to go back to their respective holes & find something to talk about. I'm sure it won't take long.

Edward R. Murrow must be spinning in his grave.

* * * * *

I didn't get to the range over the weekend to play with the new rifle, but I can always go after work during the week; perhaps Wednesday.

There's not much else going on, so I'll stop. Thanks for coming by.

It's Just Not Happening

I usually write these posts in the mornings, after breakfast but before work. I rarely have any idea what I'll write about, but many times a news snippet or comment will trigger a thought - and then I'm off to the races.

I don't make any claim that my posts are particularly deep, for the most part, although I have my moments. If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know my style tends to be ... well, scattershot.

Some days, the effort to come up with a topic, or even a general focus, is tougher. Some days, no matter how I peruse the local news rag-cum-bird cage liner, look at headlines on-line, stare at the ceiling, look out the window, walk around the room, check the weather report, tap on the keyboard, or bang my forehead on the table ... nothing happens. No magic. No inspiration.

Nothing.

Nada.

Zip.

Zilch.

And this... is such a day. The weather is a re-run; the news is recycled from Tuesday, ... and I've got nothin', but I repeat myself.

So I'll spare you any further doldrums; have a great Friday! I hope you don't regret dropping by just for this. With any luck - and a little inspiration - post #600 will be better than #599.