Intoday's paper, Senator Olympia Snowe, R. Maine, is hanging up her spurs and getting out of the politics business. she says she is tired of the partisan politics of Washington.
on the other hand, Mr. Obama is going to Portland, where 100 of his closest friends will kick in $30,000 each (chump change in the political business) to have dinner with him. then 800 more friends will join him at the Mariott Sable Oaks in South Portland, with varying opportunities to be a part of the action - ranging from $100 to $10,000. Potomac Fever is a deadly disease.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Damaged books and Trademarks
I cannot believe where the time goes. We get up, shower and get ourselves looking presentable for the day, do scripture reading, make lunch, eat breakfast, get out the door to the Archives, do the record capture process till lunch, eat lunch, go back to do capture process till about 3.45pm then shut everything down (we have to be out by 4pm when the archives close for the day) then we go to the YMCA to exercise, then home. At home I have to make dinner, then we eat and clean up after the meal and then we only have about 2 hours before bed time and that gets used up in house hold duties etc. I did not get to do the blog last night.
I have been quite puzzled about where the time goes – but goes it does. Five months have passed since we were in the MTC and that has literally flown by.
We still have loads of ice to deal with but our neighbor says that Spring is definitely on its way. The Ice Shacks have started to disappear from off the Kennebec, and I do not think it is because they sank, but rather that the ice has become too thin to support someone walking on it. Yesterday, in the paper, there was a picture of some Canada Geese feeding on the banks of the Kennebec so I guess their migration is well under way. As we come to work, there are great swaths of open water on the river and it is not one sheet of white any more.
They sent us a new camera last week and it has worked great Friday, Monday and Tuesday but this morning when we came in to work, the camera will not work at all. I guess we speed up to a standstill this morning. As I type, Bill is in touch with the computer guru wizards in SLC and they are trying to talk him through the process to get it going again. How in the world do these people get to know all this stuff. You can ask Henry just about anything about the camera, the comuters or the dCamX program and their workings and he has the answer. The man is an ultimate WIZARD. So the upshot of the call to SLC was that we had to go into the deepest entrails of the camera workings, click some sort of button, and hey presto, It works. I am always amazed at the connectivity, the knowledge base and the fact that they trusted us oldies to be on this mission and trying to do what is asked………Weeeeoooooo!
David called up and told me that he was going to build a two tier garden and grow veggies and herbs in Phoenix. Way to go David! However, I am a little concerned with the fact that he is beginning the garden this late in the season. To have a successful garden in Phoenix takes lots of skill and time and effort and it needs to be started when the cooler weather begins in October through February. He said he wants to grow fruit trees like we have in Prescott – he had better stick to citrus because stone fruit like we have in Prescott is not an option in Phoenix. He sounded really happy about the garden and was really cute about it when he said, “You know Mom, I take after you and you taught me all you know”. Well, not quite, but I did teach him a lot but not about gardening in the Desert. My own efforts were pathetic to say the least and met with total disaster. Prescott is a little better but still not top of the line garden skills even now after 12 years.
Nina left the office today. It was her last day on the job and now she is off the job. No fanfare, no prolonged goodbyes, in fact, she slipped away without anyone knowing. And so it goes – off into the sunset driving her new automobile with its new tires and she is retired. Her retirement date shifted so much that the office staff did not quite know if or when to hold a retirement party. We held it last week. I was amazed that she asked for a pizza party and how many pieces of pizza she ate – especially since last week she was eating cottage cheese and an apple for lunch for two days in a row because she said she did not want to get fat again. Well, she is so short and extremely skinny that you would have to turn her around about 5 times before you could get a shadow.
We are working on some very very old and very sorry looking books. The spines have long ago given up trying to hold things together, and the pages are all rippled and warped due to being wet at some time. The ink has run, and the pages have yellowed and the calf skin covers have pretty much disintegrated to just a vestige of their glory days when they were first made. They must have been really fine books over 200 years ago. The ones we are working with today are unique in that they are only numbered on the right hand page of the book. No number on the left hand page so we have to do an edit for each and every page we digitize. The books are over 500 pages in length but come to only around 250 double capture. Each of these books in this series takes us about 2 hours to digitize due to the extra process we have to go through. We either are turning pages or sitting at the computer pushing buttons to do the edits necessary. Clearly this mission is not for sissies or as Calvin put it one comic strip “or some sissy weasel tigers”.
The Non Sequitur cartoon this past week was of 8 cavemen standing on each other’s shoulders while the 9th was at the top drawing on the cave walls. The quip was “Just keep reminding yourself that 5,000 years from now, no one will be able to figure out how he did it.” and the title of the strip was EARLY SUPORT OF THE ARTS. The sad part about digitizing all these hand written books is that in the not too distant future, they will be unreadable by anyone due to the fact that today in the schools, no one is learning how to write cursive, it is a lost art. Just like no one can easily read Mayan carvings, no one will be able to read what was written over 200 years ago as a record of court proceedings. So sad. I do hope that our efforts are not turning out to being an exercise in future futility.
Monday, February 27, 2012
A new series of Books that are falling apart with age.
We have entered a new era in digitizing books. These are very old (1790) and extremely fragile. So fragile in fact that they have them in specially made boxes. Volume one is so damaged that it may be impossible for anyone to read the contents – even with digitization. Volume one has been damaged with water or some liquid that has stained the page and obliterated some of the writing. The binding has long since disassociated itself from the book and it requires very gentle handling.
As we turned each page, bits and pieces fell off and so we had year 1790 confetti on the cradle as we worked. The pages cracked when we turned them and I fully expected them to be completely disintegrated before we finished the volume. Well, what could we really expect from a book that is 232 years old? We did our best with the calibration for digitization and if this volume is rejected, it will have to remain rejected because I doubt if it could stand up to one more time being processed. Volume 2, of this series, is in much better condition. I think it is because there is more rag content in the pages and they did not crack and split or tear as we worked with them. We did work carefully just the same.
David called up with a proposal for Easter. Instead of us sending him candy from Maine, he wants to receive a $25 gift card from Walmart so that he can buy personal care items. I asked him what he meant by that and he said, well, the $25 would be enough to buy a couple of Axe deodorant/antiperspirant, a couple of Axe Shampoo bottles, 2 or 3 Axe Body wash and a few body spray by Axe. That comes to well over the $25 he is asking for – I guess he thinks we have the power to send him rubber money – i.e. money that will stretch to fit the needs. Fat Chance! The most he can expect to get is one of each of the desired items and even then he may have to add some of his own money. Heaven forbid he have to use his own money to buy himself some AXE products. I have no idea why he likes this stuff because it really smells bad to me and makes me sneeze a lot when he uses it while visiting us at Prescott. He saw a TV commercial that assured young men that WOMEN love the smell of AXE. And I suppose, in the same vein, the curvaceous blonde gracing the Porsche advertisement is an example of the kind of woman who is attracted to that kind of car and so it follows that if you buy this car, you will get a similar or superior girl friend to go with it? Another fat chance!
We went to the YMCA after the archives today and it was really really busy. It is usually this busy right after a holiday where people come to the YMCA to try to work off the goodies they ate too much of the previous weekend or holiday etc. On the other hand, the weather has been rather easy to live with and so the roads are not treacherous and people can drive and be safe. There was a hefty man replete with Five Finger Toe Shoes by Vibram, muscle shirt and wide leather belt (presumably to hold himself together?). He was ‘worshiping’ at the Heavy Weight corner. He loaded the bars with huge cast iron weights and put the metal locking device on them and then stood there for a while on the step and then when he was ready, he lifted the load about 5 inches from the resting bar, repeated it about 5 times and then heaved a sigh of relief when he put the weights down. About 10 minutes later, a lad of about 12 came by , and stood in the same spot and tried to heft the bar without the weights on it and he could not do it, but I suppose there is nothing better than trying to advance to the big boys games and toys.
It had started to snow when we entered the YMCA and we wondered if this was the SNOW STORM that was promised for today or was it just a passing fad of the weather in Maine? We will be able to tell in the morning.
The Sunday School Class on Adam and Eve
Sunday School class is interesting – especially when we discuss Adam and Eve. For many groups, the teaching is that they committed sexual sin and therefore ran afoul of God and were ushered out of the Garden of Eden. For some others, this life is a one shot deal and there is nothing to look forward to when we leave this mortal condition. The arguments rage all around us, but the scriptures make it clear that mortality is not a one shot deal, it is rather a series of tests to see if we will do what God has asked us to do. The first and major commandment is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God” and in the Garden the requirement of obedience was stated “Of the trees of the garden thou shalt freely eat, but of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil thou shalt not eat, for in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die”. Nevertheless, Adam and Eve had their agency as to whether they would keep this commandment. A commandment to multiply and replenish the earth was also given but as yet, they were not mortal and mortality had to be introduced before multiplication could take place. So we see that one commandment had to be transgressed in order for the other to be fulfilled. Transgression is the term applied to a situation where the law is broken in innocence or rather without an understanding of good versus evil and sin is committed where the individual has direct knowledge of the right and wrong of the question they face.
The Class examined Genesis and discussed the following points:
1. They were married while living in the Garden and before they were cast out. Genesis 3: 6 KJV She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
2. Adam chose to eat because – Genesis 3:12 KJV the woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat.
3. The subtlety of the serpent overpowered innocent Eve in Genesis 3:13 KJV And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
4. God dealt with the Serpent Genesis 3:13 KJV Because thou has done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
5. God’s reprimand to Eve Genesis 3:16 KJV I will greatly ultiply thy sorrow and they conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
6. God’s reprimand to Adam Genesis 3:17 KJV Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of hty wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded the, saying, Thou shaltl not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; and the curse continues through to Vs. 19
7. Genesis 3:20 KJV Adam explains the meaning of his wife’s name. and Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
8. God made clothing for Adam and Eve Genesis 3:21 KJV Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
9. Then the significant statement of the Lord God in Genesis 3:22 KJV And the Lord God said, behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever. The class discussion over this verse pointed out that “one of us” denotes plurality and the key to becoming as the Gods is “to know good and evil”.
10. Adam and Eve were then sent forth from the garden in vs. 23 and so that Adam did not go back and eat of the tree of Life and live forever, cherubims and a flaming sword turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life.
The discussion was lively and we came away with a greater understanding of the situation in the Garden, learned that it was not sexual sin, but rather that by eating of the fruit, Adam and Eve had introduced mortality. A change came over their Garden of Eden God Created bodies so that they could now procreate and becoming mortal they could have children.
We also discussed "As man is, God once was; As God is, man may become."
As the teacher I was impressed with the gusto with which they examined the Genesis chapter. I was also exhausted after the lesson – it is hard to keep 15 Adults focused on the subject in hand.
After church we came home and the crock pot meal was ready to eat.
In the evening Bill had a meeting to go to in Topsham and he drove with some of the members because his ability to not get lost is legend. We drove 108 miles on Christmas morning to try to find a member and bring them to church service.
While he was there at the meeting, I worked on my genealogy on the computer entering the information from the death certificates that have been sent to me from Australia. A distant cousin has sent me almost 40 certificates and many updates to my Lockyer line. This is the line for my Mother.
Genealogy is not without its skirmishes but sooner or later, someone comes forward with the exact information that completes the picture and now I have a better picture of my Lockyer lineage from Othery, Somersetshire, England.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
The snowstorm of Saturday 25 February - Winter is not Dead!
When I lived in Hawaii for college in the late 60’s there was a saying among the students about the weather. “Wait 5 minutes and it will change”. If we looked out our dorm windows and saw that it was raining, wait 5 minutes and you might not need your umbrella…..or if you don’t go down to class now, it might be raining when you get out of the dorm. Well we have the same saying in Arizona – if it is raining now, wait 5 minutes and possibly it will be done raining and it is pretty much correct. This morning I woke up to see snow everywhere and it was so beautiful. I wanted to beauty to last but if I had waited 5 minutes, the wind came up and the sun rose and the snow fell off the trees or melted right in front of my eyes. So, I am glad that I had my camera with me and captured the beauty of the snowfall before the wind came and the sun (although not very warm as yet) was warm enough to make the snow fall off the trees and become a muddy mess where the snow plough had missed the paved area and scraped up the lawn.
We went late to the YMCA this morning and Bill said we might see a whole new set of people doing their exercises. We usually go around 4pm on Monday and Wednesday and He goes around 7pm on Saturday and we do Western Line Dance as an exercise class on Tuesday. There seems to be a fairly regular group who hang out at the YMCA in the afternoons, and I was surprised to see some of the same people there this morning.
After lunch out with our friends Marty and Sue, we went over to Walmart to pick up Bill’s prescription and to do the weeks shopping. Admittedly the Walmart range and selection of food products is vastly greater than Hannafords, but I prefer to go to Hannafords to shop because I do not have to wander so far through the store to pick up the things I need and I certainly do not have to dodge as many carts. I also do not have to stand in front of a wide array of similar products to mull over which one I want – I like to get in, pick my stuff and get out. There is no swift way to get out of Walmart.
The snow last night left a good 6 inches of the white stuff covering the ground and cars and trees etc. and today there was some sunshine but it was in the mid 30’s. Not bad for a winter day. Our landlord told me that he would put up plastic over our windows with the Northern Exposure because that it the direction of the prevailing winds here. It will help keep the apartment warmer. I had no idea how the plastic would help, but he came anyway, about 3 weeks after we moved in, and last night was the first night I was aware of just how wonderful this plastic over the windows really is. The snow was coming from that direction and tonight there is a howling wind out there that threatens to blow the screens off their hinges. The windows leak and so I think we are in for a very cold night tonight. The low temperature they expect is 16 degrees and right now it is 30degrees.
My Sunday School lesson tomorrow is on Adam and Eve. The point of the lesson that has had impact on me is that knowledge of Good and Evil is the key to Godhood. God had said to Eve, “In the day thou eatest thereof (meaning the fruit of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil), thou shalt surely die.” (meaning to become mortal) The Serpent said to Eve “Ye shall not surely die, but shall become as the Gods, knowing good and evil.” It surely was a dilemma, but Adam and Eve partook of the fruit and the rest is history. It should spark some lively discussion.
As I type this blog, our grandson Ethan is competing in a gymnastics meet in Omaha, Nebraska. I am amazed at his skills he has developed in this sport and he told me he has his eye on the Olympics. More power to him.
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