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Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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Boris, Natasha, and the Cold War
June 26, 2013
— 4 Comments
When I was in elementary school we had air raid drills to teach us how to protect ourselves if Russians tried to blow us up during school hours. We went out in the hall and stood against the wall with our arms against the wall wondering why Russians wanted to bomb us. The cartoon spies Boris and Natasha explained this reality to us. Fearless Leader, a thinly veiled Nikita Krushchev, was out to destroy us by sending hacks like Boris and Natasha to spy on us. The cold war was about nuclear weapons, but we had no idea what they were. We only knew they made mushroom clouds in cartoons. Maybe some of us knew about Hiroshima, but generally the big conspiracy against us remained unexplained. We shifted our national hatred from Germany to Russia after WWII, and our effort was focused on keeping communists from ruling the world. We were not alive for the Nazis but saw them in movies plenty. We had heavy brainwashing about Europe, which we also did not understand. History for us was all about the western hemisphere and manifest destiny.
The details of communism and how it operated to destroy us were vague at best. We later became aware that James Bond also recognized Russia as evil, but sometimes slept with Russian spies to gain intelligence. The plot thickened. We needed to stop communism in Viet Nam by killing people in the jungle while tripping on LSD. Things went downhill from there, even though communism and capitalism looked exactly the same on the inside. When the Soviet Union imploded it was from the same kind of corruption and propaganda that the United States is known for now. This war will be the globally warmer war, in which the stakes are higher, the cartoons more sinister. Now Fearless Leader is Vladamir Putin, and the accent still fits perfectly.
The Spies Who Love Us
June 24, 2013
— 1 Comment
Garbo Mata Hari
Does it sound like a compliment to you to be called a traitor by Dick Cheney? Do you wonder what espionage is? Do Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, and Edward Snowden appear to be more or less trustworthy than the United States government? Do you trust the military to police itself? My personal theory is that leaking is the new journalism. More high profile leaks will be celebrated with caviar and vodka faster than you can say Vlad’s your uncle. Shortly a woman will join the ranks of leaky whistle blowers, and the balance will shift. You do not need any psychic abilities to predict this. You simply need to wake up and smell the data.
My Privacy Policy
June 19, 2013
— 8 Comments
single hibiscus
single orchid
solo
privacy
free time
Privacy and free time are the only true luxury items, in my book. They will not arrive on their own and they will not stay if not managed with care. We all have a privacy policy, and it is not like the one you get from your doctor. We either announce to the world where we are and what we are doing or not. The other branch of privacy is availability. Each of us decides if we are available to be called or texted all day and night. We let people know how and when to reach us, and based on those parameters our privacy policy is established.
I love technology and enjoy many facets of the world wide web and the power it contains. I do not use GPS or smartphone. I do not want to be tagged and given a free beer when I am in the hood. I would rather retain the privacy. I do no use my cell phone at all except for travel and odd circumstances. I use Skype or my landline to make calls. I do not text or receive texts. There are some on my ancient cell phone, but I will never read them because they are from Virgin Mobile. Some of my friends think this practice is wildly eccentric, and I suppose it is in 2013. The reason I do not live my life connected to the internet or the phone is that I value my freedom and private life.
My filters and boundaries are clear to me, and obvious to others. I publish 2 blogs, one of which is now mostly art. I interact on various social media and in Triberr with a wide array of personalities and specialties. I am active and interactive all over the world in this way. I am a great navigator who does not use GPS because I think navigation is good for the soul. I could never imagine giving up the thrill of knowing where I am and trusting some voice who has no idea where I am. I had GPS given to me in a rental car once, and it sent us drastically out of our way. I did not even turn it on after that..how silly. I have the same phone number at my home that I have had for about 20 years. There is a message system that works, and I respond when I hear messages that are for me. I eliminate the spam and move on with life.
Symbolic Transformation, #
June 18, 2013
— 4 Comments
# is a symbol. It has meaning, and it conveys something like punctuation. It says, “This is digital, not linear, not even physical.” It says, “2013 is all about #.” Yet there are those who never use it and maybe do not grasp the power contained in the #. It is clearly and obviously a make-believe entity, the digital reality. If anthropologists of the future go through the twitter accounts of the most famous people in the 21st century to learn about our culture, they will be flabbergasted.
Knowing the code, from secret societies to Morse code has always been significant. Writing code to make the computer world exist is a skill, an art, and a secret to those who do not know how to do it. The dewey decimal system was the grandparent to the #. We no longer have a paper file at the library, and there is no need to go to a library to find reference materials. If we Google, Bing, or # we go straight to the stuff we seek. Hide and seek is not played outdoors, but in search. I have often expressed the opinion here that there is nothing evil about technology. There is a big question about the morality of those who have access to the best technology to act in the best interests of society.
There is no conspiracy to push wealth away from most people and into the pockets of those who have the most data and the fastest computers. The shift from placing value on material goods to mining information about people’s habits has been in play for a long time. The society has participated in this shift willingly, and now is starting to wonder where the path leads. I believe it takes the individual where they intend to go, much like telegraphs and libraries. The choice is wider, but the choice of how to use and misuse is still a personal issue. The broader society, however, is suffering from the concentration of wealth and power in too few #’s.
Red Rover with Big Brother
June 12, 2013
— 1 Comment
post industrial reflection
We are pretending that the data analysts of the world are geeks and, therefore, benign. How silly can we be? My own father jumped from slide rule to mainframe computer just to get bigger data. The rest of his life was consumed by the opportunity to get more and bigger data. He taught petroleum engineering students how to analyze big data to manage oil fields. He was recruited by IBM in the late 1950’s to be a believer. Data was the future and the future was bigger data.
My parents and all their petroleum friends around the world distinguished themselves by the mass quantities of alcohol they consumed. They liked Ike, war, cars, and cocktails. I never saw them as particularly in touch with reality. They were, in their day, the big science data mangers trusted to produce energy for the planet. They were distinctly reckless, especially my father. He adored fracking and exploding stuff of all kinds. In his 60’s he became a reckless hot air balloonist, risking the lives of many to get his kicks. I am not saying they were evil..not at all. They were lots of fun, and popular for their party antics. What I am saying is that humans handle the data, and I suspect each person attracted to this kind of power (of geekiness and arcane knowledge) of wanting to pervert the universe. I see the greatest generation as having used science to do much damage. I think the Boomers will not be remembered so well in data history either. Control of politics and data has turned into a giant Red Rover dare. Protecting all the various digital borders is now impossible, so cyberinfo is a volatile hacking paradise.
Now there is so much data nobody has any idea how to manage it, let alone isolate the people ethical enough to handle it. This whole idea and verbiage of leak is indicative of the problem. We now have such a complex web of data moving non stop that leaks of all kinds are inevitable. People will now devote their lives and fortunes to creating and finding leaks of important data. The data came from Pandora’s box, but it is much too big to be contained now. We let it all out, then we dare Big Brother to come over. I witnessed first hand the people who conquered the oil fields with data and science. They suffered from intense ignorance. We do too. It is not the tool, but the user,who makes the decisions, who has the power to change the outcome. I am not so worried about NSA wasting time analyzing my data as I am about all misdirected data studies everywhere. This data smuggling and whistle blowing has only just begun, gentle reader. We have a tangled web of growing data to interpret, store and hide.
Ladders in Dreams
June 6, 2013
— 7 Comments
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- stairway to heaven
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- stairs
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- upward
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- look up
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- steeple
I have had dreams lately in which ladders and levels have been featured heavily. I have climbed them, but I watch others doing it and taking big risks in most cases. There is an MC Escher kind of set with stairs/ladders/ split levels leading in all directions. There is a need to escape the mesh of levels in order to find daylight or reality or some better circumstance. The dreams have a matter of fact nature, nothing scary or odd. There are different sets and casts of characters, all featuring ladder and or stair climbing. In the dreams ladders become stairs and vice versa.
Once I noticed the dreams with steps leading up as a theme I brought this into my daytime reality to see where and when I use proverbial ladders. I do not and did not climb any corporate ladder. I just had no interest. I own a home with a second floor, where my yoga room and bedroom are private from the rest of the world. Only two people regularly go upstairs. We need very big ladders to paint or repair our ceiling because of an atrium entry/living room. I have had repairs done lately and have been contemplating other upgrades to my home that all require ladders. I went to study soul and spirit and found that spirit is basically always upwardly mobile. Soul lives in this horizontal earthy plane, while spirit soars or climbs the stairway to heaven. With all this in mind I believe the ladders are an emblem of both care of my path, and a Jack in the Beanstalk style note to self. Knowing when where and why to go up a ladder is important information.
Climbing for climbing sake has not been my style in this life. Serving as I go along is my modus operandi. There are many paths to nowhere and stairways to nothing. This is only part of the risk one takes when deciding to climb or not to climb. Often I notice in these dream characters, who do not remind me of real people, the mindless will to climb is related to envy and pity. They solicit pity for working so hard, taking abuse along the way, then alternately solicit envy for the position they have won. I know folks who do this in real life without noticing that the ladder is two dimensional. I have unlocked no big secret here, gentle reader. Working with dreams is a technique anyone can use. Keeping a diary and writing the details will lead to more insight. There is no need to analyze deeply or search for big meaning. Dreams speak softly in very faint language. They sink into the consciousness over time.
Supreme Service
June 5, 2013
— 1 Comment
Sandra Day O’Connor is my hero. After her long and distinguished career as TFWOTSS ( the first woman on the Supreme Court) she is now teaching and organizing civics lessons for the nation. Her recognition of the need for this as well as her personal style of presentation make icivics the coolest thing ever. She is now using all her skills to heal the ignorance of our youth. She is one smart retired cowgirl. If light overcomes darkness and wisdom overcomes deceit, Sandra Day is one of the greatest truly public of public servants our country has ever known. I hope she will have the pleasure of knowing that her teaching has planted healthy seeds in some students’ minds.
Tucson’s Iron Chef Goes Hog Wild
June 1, 2013
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- living pigs
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- ready to cut
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- berkshire pig
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- pork
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- whole pig
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- butchering
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- chops
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- the saw
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- chef and pig
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- curing in walk in
Tucson’s own Iron Chef, Ryan Clark of the Lodge on the Desert ,is committed to sustainability and creativity. He butchers and cures the meat served at his restaurant. This very special Berkshire pig has been served recently to guests. This attention to detail is one reason his cuisine reigns supreme in Tucson. July 7 he will face a challenger in the cook off competition. If the secret ingredient is a whole pig, this chef is ready.
Randall Holt, 10th Great-Grandfather
May 31, 2013
— 5 Comments
Seal of Jamestown
Randall Holt was born in Cheshire, England. His son John killed himself in Virginia, which made a big fat mess. Queen Anne stepped in to save his land for his family.
RANDALL HOLT (1607 – 1650)
is my 10th great grandfather
Randolph Holt (1638 – 1679)
son of RANDALL HOLT
John Holt (1664 – 1705)
son of Randolph Holt
David Holt (1685 – 1749)
son of John Holt
Sarah Holt (1740 – 1792)
daughter of David Holt
James Truly (1755 – 1816)
son of Sarah Holt
Elizabeth Betsy Truly Payne Darden (1782 – 1851)
daughter of James Truly
Minerva Truly Darden (1806 – )
daughter of Elizabeth Betsy Truly Payne Darden
Sarah E Hughes (1829 – 1911)
daughter of Minerva Truly Darden
Lucinda Jane Armer (1847 – 1939)
daughter of Sarah E Hughes
George Harvey Taylor (1884 – 1941)
son of Lucinda Jane Armer
Ruby Lee Taylor (1922 – 2008)
daughter of George Harvey Taylor
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Ruby Lee Taylor
Randall Holt probably came to the Jamestown Colony in 1621 onboard the ship George as a young teen as a servant to Dr. John Potts.
Randall Holt was born about 1607 in Prestbury, England, the son of Randall/Randolph and Elizabeth (Pott) Holt, who were wed in the Prestbury church. Randall was probably a nephew of Dr. Pott(s), the Virginia Colony physician who later became governor.
Several Holt family christenings, weddings and burials have taken place at St. Peter’s Church in Prestbury. It is about 700 years old. Nearby in the churchyard there is an even older Norman chapel.
The Randall Holt FamilyRandall Holt’s is the first mention of the Holt family found in the American colonies. The court ordered that upon release from his indenture he was to be given “one suit apparel from head to foot and three barrels of corn.”
Read more at Suite101: Line of Descent from Randall Holt of Virginia: Grandson’s Suicide Prompted the Queen’s Intervention http://www.suite101.com/content/line-of-descent-from-randall-holt-of-virginia-a181274#ixzz0xlAZ8icn
Randall was released from his indenture in 1625 and in 1628 he married Mary Bailey, who also may have been from Prestbury. It was a fortunate match. She was the sole heir of John Bailey of Hog Island, one of the richest men in the Virginia Colony.
The Bailey Family LegacyThe Council of Jamestown had appointed Robert Evers as Mary’s guardian at her father’s death and ordered that 490 Hog Island acres be deeded to her. Randall and Mary settled on this island in the James River. He added 400 acres to his wife’s property in 1636 and another 400 acres in 1639.
In 1650, Randall Holt Jr. obtained a grant for 1022 Hog Island acres as “son and lawful heir”. He received a major’s commission in the British Colonial forces and was a member of the governing House of Burgesses. In 1668, Randall Holt Jr. was appointed Justice for Surry County. In 1679, the year he died, he was granted a patent for 1,450 acres on Hog Island.
Queen Intervenes to Help Holt DescendantsJohn Holt inherited all the lands his father, Randall Jr., had owned, was listed in the 1687 Cavalry of Surry County, and was granted the right to operate the ferry between Hog Island and the mainland. By 1704, the Holt family owned 2,768 acres in Surry County. Of this, 1,450 acres were controlled by Elizabeth, the widow of Randall Holt Jr. The remainder was owned by the sons of Randall and Elizabeth.
Read on
- Line of Descent from John Chew of Virginia
- Line of Descent from John Fisher of Virginia
- U. S. Lineage Societies for Men and Women
John Holt committed suicide in 1707. Because suicide was unlawful, his land reverted to the crown. Son David had received a substantial land grant from his grandfather, David Crafford. The other sons—John Jr., Charles, Benjamin and Joseph—attended a court hearing on the matter. The court deposition read that the coroner’s jury found that his estate was forfeited. However, Gov. Edward Nott, representing the Crown, made the finding that “his five surviving children are fit objects of our mercy and compassion” and said Queen Anne had commanded the restoration of their father’s estate to them.
Read more at Suite101: Line of Descent from Randall Holt of Virginia: Grandson’s Suicide Prompted the Queen’s Intervention http://www.suite101.com/content/line-of-descent-from-randall-holt-of-virginia-a181274#ixzz0xlAgYO00
Descendants of Randall Holt are eligible for membership in the Jamestowne Society.
Boundaries for the Victim
May 29, 2013
All of us have the victim archetype in our personalities. We may not see it, but we all have suffered and caused others to suffer. What the victim archetype teaches us in life is how to draw boundaries. While we can’t go through life without any suffering, we can recognize the causes and address them. Yoga is a complex system that offers a path to enlightenment and soulful living. Physical practice of asanas and breathing is a powerful and effective way to begin to draw the appropriate borders and rules for yourself and others in your life who may take advantage of you. The above explanation and remedy are simple to understand and practice. Bend over backwards to find your own limits and expand on what you have now.
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