Ghost in the Machine....

Apt title for this, methinks. Hi all and greetings from the slow and limited world of library computers. Hoping this post will go through, this time( fingers crossed ). I'm still accessing from the town library, when I have the time. Right now my life is in a major turmoil as I deal with so many full plates( so to speak ). To bring you all up to date:

My computer crashed the day ere Mom's second fistula operation and after two weeks, the problem still isn't solved~OY! The advanced pain from her operation has left her arm all but useless and I'm finding myself devoting a lot more time towards helping her( especially getting dressed, fixing meals, etc. ) Maybe this was supposed to happen; who really knows? But whatever got into my PC may have ruined it completely( but fingers are also still crossed on that, as well ). I'm not sure when I'll be back on-line, full time. I'm lucky to get extended PC time at the library( being a friend of it helps a bit ).

I'm also dealing with moving by the end of next month( November ), to a place a lot closer to everything( shopping, busline, etc. )and on the first floor! So I've been keeping busy going through things, as I repack( again ). Even if I had my system up and running, the time would still be rather limited. And I've not been getting much sleep, lately. When I do, it's fitfull, as I find meself ever on the alert if Mom needs something. The doctor visits have increased of late and she can no longer tolerate her full time on the dialysis machine, due to the extreme pain in her arm. We go to the doc later to-day to see what else can be done, as the meds just are not working( and she's on some of the strongest )...

I'm also dealing with a very sad loss( no, no, not a death! )but the fact that Princess Cheese will be leaving for England soon. Her Mum and Da have finally called it quits and Mum will be moving back to the Manchester area, prob'ly for good( as soon as she gets her renewed passports, that is ). And that to my plate and you can see why I've not been round in a while. The PC crash was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg but it makes me wonder...if there really is a ghost in my machine preventing me from surfing the www, so I can spend more time on the really important stuff.

To those that have emailed me in concern, I thank you muchly and I apologise for the long delays in responding. To wit; I'm not even sure when I'll be able to respond to this post, so just bear with me. Most of the bloggos I follow, I just can't get access to from here( not to mention no facebook or other community sites ). I can't even load a picture or vid~EGAD! Just know that I'm still here and will( hopefully; knock wood )be back in full ere to long. I wish every one a safe an sane Halloween and take care.

Climate Change...

Greetings fellow bloggers and bloggettes! Due to unforseen circumstances, I'm forced to post a wee bit early for Theme Thursday. As I'm accessing through a library computer, I'm not sure if/when I'll get a chance to respond to comments. Until my own system is up and running again, there may not be any posts for a while. I will be playing a bit of "catch-up", so no worries if you don't "see" me for a few days. Hopefully I'll be back blogging by week's end( hopefully... )In the meantime, I hope you get a chance to follow up on the BAD09 link. There were over 5,000 blogs registered, the last time I looked!

Also note that I have removed my facebook badge link, until I can determine if that had anything to do with my shutting down, so if ya wanna chat or leave a message, just email me( I will keep checking those in the late mornings )...thanks to all ahead of time and blog ya later!!

Image courtesy Getty Images

Greetings everyone and welcome to Theme Thursday. This week's theme topic is tied in to Blog Action Day 2009( or BAD09 ). This is my first time on BAD, so I'm not sure what to expect. I wasn't even sure what to write about until I started thinking; I've either lived in or visited every climate area on the planet( barring the polar caps but I've gotten close enough ). I know what it's like to live among a dying forest, especially the Black Forest of Germany. As an Air Force brat, I was exposed to different climes at an early age. From the tropical warmth of Florida, to the high deserts of New Mexico, to the Colorado Rocky Mountains, to the bitter cold of the North-eastern states, to the acid rains of Europe...

I've seen first-hand the destruction of tornadoes, and hurricanes and worse. But is this the direct result of Man? Maybe...maybe not. Earth is constantly moving. Mother Nature has an incredible way of cleansing things. Unfortunately, Man hasn't figured it all out yet. Go back to the beginning of the Earth's formation and then compare it to now. In the span of less than 300 years it has taken Man to duplicate, what took Mother Nature over 1 billion years to filtre. All those primordial gasses...

They do say( whoever "they" are ), that history can repeat itself. Go figure a bunch of bipeds have figured out how to destroy themselves, yet not a clew as to how to save themselves. The answers are there( well, the ones we haven't driven to extinction yet ). When I was in my freshman year of high-school, I entered a contest of sorts having to do with earth resources and consumption, thereof. I even made a poster that looked a lot like the above photo. I didn't win anything but did manage to get my point across...to deaf ears. We are truly running on empty...

I used to go hiking all through the forests of Germany, and kept noticing that with each trek, there was less and less of nature living...

I've seen what over-farming can do while living out west in the U.S. Some of the dust-storms are worse than the tornadoes...

I've smelled the industrial wastes of big city industry as the pollution went unchecked, all in the name of greed and profit...

My parents droves cars that ran on leaded petrol; used lead-based paints and asbestos flooring in their homes. "Energy Star" products didn't exist. And nobody thought to sort their trash. Garbologists will be sifting through landfills for centuries to come( providing there's anyone around )...

I've watched as storms get more violent every year...as folks in the north complain of heat-waves in the summer, as they drive round in their(air-conditioned)SUV's...and decry the winter as they let said vehicle idle for 30 minutes or longer, as they grumble and dig away the latest snowfall...yet what are they doing to help out?

A few towns in New England now have transfer stations for refuse removal; and some even have "single-stream-recycling". I participated in this and it was(is) a no-brainer...the current town I live in now doesn't have it but it's a topic of debate. Of course...

What have you done that may help to stem the tide of climate change?

A SMALL HELP

My carbon foot-print is no longer large;
I now drive a small car instead of a barge...

All the bulbs in my flat are compact fluorescent,
No longer use I energy sucking incandescent...

I know it's not much but I do try my best,
I re-use what I can and recycle the rest...

In winter when I'm not home I turn down the heat,
Too sometimes at night an extra blanket for mt feet...

Will all these things aide to repair all the damage,
That's been round for centuries unchecked and un-managed?

To our children's, children's children a legacy of pollution;
Each generation adds to the next and offers no solution...

The Earth's climate is e'er changing as the rain forests are cut;
The temperatures keep re-arranging as the ice caps melt but...

Given Man's greed for profit and destruction,
His wanton abandon for Nature's construction...

A world made of concrete, plastic and paved;
Too late methinks it cannot be saved...

Who'll be round in a hundred years to see what we've done,
As we destroy totally this planet and rape another one?

copyright~Todd Slater(a.k.a.~Subby)12 October, 2009~

I Feel Pretty...

To a manor ball I've been invited,
Tho' I may arrive late I'm still delighted,

But with Marilyn Maxwell as my date,
I fear I may arrive too late!

William Powell and Myrna Loy, have agreed to come along,
Just keep Billy away from the bar and you'll not have to here his song!

(Which goes something like this....)

Didja ever look in the mirror and think to yourself, "Why do I look the way I do?"
Have you ever wanted to be someone else and wear a different shoe?

Did kids pick on you in school because of the way you looked?
Have you ever felt like a pawn in chess just waiting to be "rooked"?

Have you ever been scrutinised or compared to another race;
Just because of how you look or something was on your face?

These things I've learned to ignore more with each passing year,
And I'm proud to look in the mirror and grin from ear to ear.

Thank you William but you could've waited 'til we actually got there, first!

Now I'm glad I sent those two on ahead in my restored 1930 Packard LeBaron Town car-OY! Hopefully the chauffer( Igor...er I mean Marty Feldman )won't get back at me for that one ahem...

I'm not sure what's worse; Billy's slurred singing or waiting for Marilyn to get ready....



See what I mean?

I've also brought along the Ahn Trio, a delightful group of ladies that'll entertain you out on the terrace...looks like Marilyn is finally ready! I can go warm up the Dusenberg( thanks to a favour Mr. Gable owed me, heh, heh ).



And I'm a lousy dancer girls so be warned, heh, heh, heh...



poem copyright~Todd Slater(a.k.a.~Subby)13 October, 2009
video copyright~Children's Television Workshop~

Author's note: I'm accessing through my library's computer, as mine just fried itself, so you may not see any answers until the morrow. Sorry for any inconvenience and the lack of pictures for reference...

Exploring A "Haunted House" pt. III

Onwards and upwards treks our young heroine (or is that "trespasser" ? ) In any case, she's about to find out why you shouldn't go messing about in an old abandoned house... ( evil, maniacal laugh ensues... )!!

EXPLORING A HAUNTED HOUSE pt. III

'Tis the attic where I find, forgotten memories,
A couple of old dolls; wondering who played with these?

More old toys in a box, stacks of magazines and books,
Ancient fishing rods, reels and rusty old hooks.

Dusty boxes of decorations, old furniture and stuff,
All stored here for many reasons; their owners used them enough.

In a corner there stands old portaits, covered in dust,
And three steamer trunks! open them, I must...

I've plenty of candle left in the lantern, so 'tis not a concern,
I set it on a trunk lid, away from things that could burn.

None oe the trunks are secured, so that's a bit of luck;
The first one opens easily, 'tis not even stuck...

A faint odour of moth-balls, permeats my nose;
Looking inside tells me, it's full of old clothes.

'Tis of interest to me, the fashions of yore,
Imagining the people, and the clothing they wore.

I slowly close this trunk and place my candle on its lid,
Then go to the next trunk, to see in it what's hid...

A tonne of old books! Their condotion seems fair;
I deftly pick up a couple; they look rather rare.

I carefully go thro' the lot, opening each one;
They're all first editions; one from 1681!!!

I file this away in my mind, 'tis such a pleasure,
I'll come back anon, to partake of this literary treasure...

As I close the second trunk and go to the third,
Hark! What's that? Another noise I have heard!

Ah,'tis just some creatures on the roof; prob'ly squirrels at play;
I ignore them and move to where, the third trunk doth lay...

From a broken window-pane, a draught blows across,
Extinguishing my candle! My vision temporarily at a loss!

...to be continued...

copyright~Todd Slater(a.k.a.~Subby)2009~

Missed the beginning? Part I and Part II

Author's note: Just getting home from work, as I write this. I'll be gone most of the day and not sure when I'll get back from hospital with Mom. We both appreciate the well wishes and keeping you all in mind. I will update all as soon as I'm able. Until then, take care all and God bless! Thanks!

Project TIME CAPSULE pt.4

OY! Here's another couple of snaps of me Mom and baby brother, from waaaay back in July of 1970. We were living in Denver, CO. at the time( Pop was stationed at Lowery A.F.B. ). According to Mom's faded writing on back, I was 3 at the time( tho' actually I was only 2-1/2 ). So why these particular pictures? Well, they fit in with my whole "Halloween" theme. Y'see, we're standing in front of Buffalo Bill Cody's final resting place. I think this was the first grave I ever visited, tho' I don't remember it at all...

Wonder what's over there?

Um...can I get down now?

These were the only two pictures in the pile I received. And seeing as how I'm on a dead kick this post, here are a few quotes from the past, all about death and dying. Sure it's morbid but I know a few of you out there aren't particular for the "slasher" thing. And how did that get started anyway? Some of these actually made me stop and think...

The gods conceal from men the happyness of death, that they may endure life.
Lucan~39-65 A.C.E.~Roman poet

If thou expect death as a friend, prepare to entertain him; if as an enemy, prepare to overcome him. Death has no advantage except when he comes as a stranger.
Francis Quarles~1592-1644~English author

Be still prepared for death: and death or life shall thereby be the sweeter. William Shakespeare~1564-1616~English dramatist and writer

He whom the gods love, dies young. Menander~342-291 B.C.E.~Greek dramatic poet

Is death the last sleep? No, it is the last and final awakening. Sir Walter Scott~1771-1832~Scottish novelist

Let death be daily before your eyes, and you will never entertain any abject thought, nor too, eagerly covet anything. Epictetus~60?-120? A.C.E.~Roman stoic philosopher

There is no death! What seems so is transition; this life of mortal breath is but a suburb of the life elysian, whose portal we call death. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow~1807-82~American poet

photos copyright...um my Pop( I think ) July, 1970~