It's All A Big Balancing Act

Not surprising, to me at least, it's been almost five months since I last posted anything here. It's not that there hasn't been anything to talk about, nor that there hasn't been time to write, though in all honesty, life is pretty busy for a family of five; But here I am again, at the urging of my oldest daughter...

Are these electrons good for you?
I'm mulling over a new theory, it might go something like this: Every household can tolerate only a certain amount of technology, or more accurately, a certain amount of time spent with technology. How much there is and who gets to use it is determined by the person who least likes, or most dislikes, technology. In my household, the three youngest members, all teenagers, get most of the technology time tolerated by our "resident technology timekeeper", who shall remain nameless (in the interest of not pointing any fingers at her). While it's not explicit, I am relegated to the position of the stereotypical leftovers guy. I get those odd moments, crumbs if you will, of time no one else has used up or wants. You know, those random and rare times when I can watch (without feeling guilty of somehow depriving someone else) a PBS educational program, or when I can actually sit at a keyboard and think, and perhaps write. There's more than a little potential here for creating a state of imbalance for all concerned. One of my big problems is that I'm interested in and curious about many, many things. The longer I live, the more I learn, and the more I learn, the more I discover there is to learn. There are so many ways to learn today, avenues that didn't exist in the not-too-distant past, like DVD's and podcasts, and, of course, the fastest way to get the most information is the Internet. I'm a hands-on guy, so holding and reading a book or performing a task is my preferred method of learning, but that isn't so for everyone. There's more to the equation than potentially spending too much time with electronic devices; for some people, the root of their fear of others' use of technology is not so much the time used as what specifically is happening during that time. Not everything available on the Internet is good, and therefore any time spent online has the potential to expose us to things we may not want to be exposed to; Now, anyone who has taken the time to explore the Internet, even a little, realizes that it's easy to bypass those things you don't want to access...that is, for adults who have the capacity to quickly discern whether they want to be there or not. Not so easy for children to figure out though. I could go on and on about children and media/technology in general, but I'll save that for another time. For now, suffice it to say that we, as adults, and particularly those of us who are parents, have a responsibility to protect our children from any and all things that may harm them. We all have different ways of trying to achieve that. There is no absolutely correct and only way. Technology is a double-edged sword, it may be both the best thing that ever happened to mankind and the worst. Until children have fully developed emotionally, and that could mean around 21 years old, we have to help them with judgment.

So maybe what we're really talking about here is time
Too much of anything is probably not good for you. We have to achieve a balance in all we do. It's the whole Yin-Yang, black-white, hot-cold, etc. thing. There's only so much time available to us. We have to work, but we should also play. We need stimulation of some sort, we also need quiet time. Several years ago, I had the privilege of taking Aikido for a short time. Everything we did in that class we did first on one side and then the other, on the right and on the left, balanced. I remember how good it felt, how much that translated into every other aspect of my life. It's something I try to incorporate in my life now, though not very successfully most of the time, just ask my family. I've tried to pass on to my children the importance of looking at all sides of the issues they may face, to try to reach a fair and equitable solution, to not jump on the bandwagon especially if that means applying negative criticism, because conventional wisdom is often not all that accurate. Yes, I shy away from controversial positions, it's how I am. I just don't think there's enough time to argue over things that probably aren't really that important in the big scheme of things. But then again, who am I to know what is truly important...

Weather
We've gotten quite a bit of rain lately, which is good for the pond and the brooks around here. It's cloudy today and on the cool side, but it's supposed to be nice tomorrow. According to the computer it's 66 F. Lori's flower garden is looking great at the moment, lots in bloom and very lush. If I can figure out how to add photos, I'll try to add one of the flower garden.

There's Usually More To The Story

I couldn't help but be drawn to a headline on my computer screen this morning. It seems that a Guantanamo Bay detainee we released to the Saudis for "terrorist rehab" in 2007, and subsequently set free by them, turns out to be a leader of Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch. Hmm... how surprising. I'm having a difficult time understanding why so many people refuse to accept the notion that there is a group of other people out there who's sole goal in life is to kill westerners, particularly Americans. I realize that our brains have all kinds of protective mechanisms to keep us from "hearing" things we don't like, but come on, we've seen how just a few with sinister intentions can inflict major damage on innocent people. I can be quite cynical sometimes, but this is one case where I believe our government has been protecting us more than we realize. Only time will tell. Our government and our allies did not just walk the streets of the world and randomly choose people to send to Gitmo. I'm not opposed to closing the place, but let's be thorough and not lose sight of the reason we originally detained those particular people.

And we should give our presidents a break
because they have more facts than they are able to share with us. You may think that everything is transparent and that what you hear on the news is simply true and accurate, especially if you see video images. But if you were to be honest about "the news" you would realize that each of us chooses to listen to, read, or watch news sources that tend to support our core beliefs. If one leans a little to the left perhaps it's CNN or NPR, if to the right, perhaps Fox. The problem I have with all news is that someone, somewhere has chosen what he or she thinks we ought to hear. It's not easy to discern the weeds from the wheat, and that's why it's easier to listen only to the side of the argument we want to hear...which, of course, may not be the truth. It's also why I've tried to teach my children that they should be more compassionate towards whomever happens to hold the position of President of the United States. The holder of that particular office probably has more information thrown at him than any other leader in the world. It's no wonder that anyone who has ever held the office has aged so quickly. President O'bama already looks older. He's probably already dealt with major issues we won't know about for many years, if ever. And that's exactly how it was for Presidents George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton before him, and on and on. These guys are constantly unduly criticized for decisions they make that we don't like, decisions made with information we likely will never have... and it's why the compassion I refer to includes withholding judgment on the actions of our immediate past President, because there's always more to the story...

Weather
overcast and around 20 this morning. The air felt a little like spring...but no January thaw in the forecast. I'd like more snow.

Fourth day on reduced caffeine
and I'm updating this post around 2:20 p.m. I'm dragging and I think cutting back to one cup of coffee a day has a role in this. Since Tuesday, I've gotten by with one 12 ounce cup of coffee in the morning and two 8 ounce cups of green tea (made from one teabag) in the afternoon. Things had been okay, not great, just okay since making the change, but right now I'm really tired. Feeling tired is my natural state of being, but this is heavy tired. I'm on my second cup of tea... we'll see.

If Only I Had More Time

I find myself thinking those words so often these days. Like right now, I'm taking five or ten minutes out of my lunch break to write a few words here, but I'd like to have more than a few minutes to form my thoughts and then put them down here. So, without the benefit of thinking about it at all, off the top of my head, here's a short list of what I'd like to do if I had more free time:

I would

• get more rest
• do more "fun stuff" with my family
  
• spend more time taking photos
• write in a journal every day
• visit my mother every day
• finish building a real darkroom
• get in shape
• meditate
• spend more time outdoors
• travel
• play music
• read

Short and by no means all-inclusive

Weather
Much warmer when I crawled out of bed this morning, around 19 F. It was snowing when I left the house around 6:45, but I think the forecast called for a mix of sun and clouds - If I had time I'd find a window and see for myself...

I'm not apologizing, but...

I certainly was not minimizing the importance of Obama's inauguration in yesterday's post. Anyone who is adept at reading between the lines could see that the point was simply that there are very important events for each and every person, each and every day. Yes, the inauguration of Barack Obama was special, but in the long run, it will be viewed by most as merely the beginning of another American presidential administration...which is really how it ought to be.

The weather up here
Beautiful morning! Clear skies, sunshine and current temperature up to 2 F. I saw a low of about -4 F around 6:30 a.m. The high is forecast to be around 18 F so it should be a great day for an outdoor activity of some sort. My son is going boarding this afternoon. I'm hoping to get out in another hour or so and either do a little back country skiing or snowshoeing before heading off to work at 1 p.m.

Speaking of work
I'm in health care, so I work all these crazy hours - sometimes days, then evenings, then days again, sometimes weekends, a couple of holidays a year. Do you know there are only six holidays a year if you work at a hospital? If you work in health care, you know what this is all about. If you work in a small hospital, you have the added bonus of carrying a beeper around 24 hours a day! Please don't misunderstand me, I do like my job, it's the unpredictability of the work hours I have grown to hate over the last 25+ years. A typical week consists of a mix of day shifts (7a to 5p) and evening shifts (1p to 11p) with overnight or evening "on-call" mixed in. I could potentially be at work from 1 p.m. today until 5 p.m. tomorrow. So you see, there is great potential for not sleeping much through much of the week. I don't believe this is healthy in the long run. It doesn't do any good to worry too much about it; these days, when I hear the unemployment numbers on the radio, I am thankful I have a job at all.

Coffee?, Tea?
I knew there was something else about yesterday that was special: I began cutting back on coffee. It's not that I actually drink that much coffee, or that I have any profound reason to drink less of it. I just go through these spells occasionally where I begin to feel dependent on the caffeine so I either switch to tea or go caffeine-free altogether. I must be entering one of those phases. So yesterday I drank my usual cup brewed at home, and because it was fairly steady at work, never even thought about another cup of coffee until after lunch, even though I was dragging a little from the lower-than-normal caffeine level in my body. I broke out a box of organic Himalayan green tea I had bought for the occasion and made myself a cup of tea. It was wonderful even if it contained considerably less caffeine than my body thought it needed. I can be frugal at times, (I like to think I am always frugal, but I'd be giving myself far too much credit) so when I drink tea made from a tea bag, I typically get two cups of good-enough-for-me tea from the one tea bag. The other thing that I like about tea is that it's so much easier to prepare than coffee, just boil water and add a tea bag. There's one more reason tea is special to me, I guess it's a metaphysical thing because I can't really put my finger on it at the moment, but when I drink tea I feel more connected to the world at large...who knows?

So This is the Big Day

Yes, so the big day is here. I have finally decided to go ahead and try this blogging thing. Oh, of course there are other important goings on today. It's my father-in-law's 82ND birthday! Okay, okay, there's that other thing too that's creating quite a buzz around the country if not much of the world. In less than an hour Barack Obama will be sworn in as our next president. This is big news even up here in the hills. Naturally, my teenagers are especially excited about this, especially my 19 year old who voted in a national election for the first time. I've tried to get all giddy about this like so many others in these parts - after all, I live in one of the most liberal counties in one of the most liberal states in the country, and this is a state that never, ever elected a Democratic governor until the 1970's mind you- but, being the true independent yankee that I am, I just can't afford to get too bent out of shape about this inauguration. Let's leave the man alone and let him get to work. There's work to do, and it's going to be hard enough without these all-too-ambitious expectations placed on him.