Notes_Norton

Soft Winds — Benny Goodman Sextet

Can't say that I have. I generally don't like the plus-sized gals. Nothing wrong with them, I prefer them medium-sized with a nice bust and not an oversized butt.

I have a feeling that if we continue our wasteful ways, it's going to get worse. I planted over 20 trees on my half acre, painted the roof white, and planted ferns and native vegetation under the trees. I've re-wilded my half acre. I'm driving a 2010 minivan (need that for my gear) and won't get rid of it until it becomes undependable. Mrs. Notes has a 1978 Jeep that she brought brand new. We don't use the AC and hang clothes out on the line. I buy classic clothes that don't go out of style next year, so I wear them until they wear out. We're not perfect, but we are doing what we can. Won't you join me? But the folks across from us have a 1.5 ton family pickup truck that will never haul anything more than a week's groceries. 3 people on the block get their lawns mowed every week, whether they need it or not, (and a lawn is the worst thing you can have). People just consume, consume, consume, and the planet gets hotter and hotter and hotter. And people are having too many kids. Of course this is good for corporate managers, hedge fund managers, bankers, and the super rich, but it isn't good for the planet. I don't see it getting better. Sorry to be so pessimistic. The bright side is that I 'planned' my birth right. I grew up when anyone halfway decent could gig, and the young folks gigged in singles bars (the DJs hadn't taken that yet). It was during the free-love generation, and before AIDs, so there were plenty of delights for young musicians (and others). I saw the USA when it was on top of the world, and even the German Chancellor drove a Cadillac. Now the world is getting too crowded, the environment is getting nasty, and I'll probably die before the hard times come after our crops fail because of the heat. ♪♪ Cryin' won't help you, and prayin' won't do you no good. ♪♪

Hold Your Head Up — Argent

Actually, they kill more humans than any other animal, including other humans. But of course, they don't cause too much property damage. Thankfully, I'm far enough south never to experience a frost. So I planted citronella grass around the entryways to the house. It doesn't get rid of them all, but greatly reduces the numbers. Before the citronella, there would be hundreds of skeeters buzzing on the screen porch, trying to get to us. After the grass, 4 or 5. I don't have any plants that collect water, and I make sure there is no standing water around the house or in the gutters. But once you get out in the yard, they will gang up on you. Being not one to use Deet often, I found a spray of mint and catnip extract. They don't like that, either. They buzz around but don't land.

I removed the shell from my racing snail to make it go faster - but it just made it more sluggish.

Hmm. I don't think this is what he meant.

Glitter In The Air — Pink

Hurricanes suck. But IMO more survival than an earthquake, tornado, tsunami, avalanche, or forest fire. Most of the time we get advance warning. And yes, the good side of human nature comes out. 10 years ago we got Frances (in the eye wall for 20 hours), Jeanne and TS Ivan. Ivan was actually the worst because it had so much water/rain. We were out of electricity for over 10 days each, and we have water wells, some of which lost prime. Our little dead-end street was crisscrossed with hoses and electrical extension cables. Who has water? Who has a generator? What times will the generator run (to keep or refrigerators cold and allow us to take showers). Who needs help? Does anyone have a cellphone that is working? Land line? Anybody need food or water? And so on. We lowered the storm awnings and put up the storm panels for the widow on the block, and took them down when it was clear. Three times, once for each storm. Fortunately, we've never had a disaster up here. We are on top of the Eastern Sand Ridge, so water, the biggest destructor, isn't as devastating here.

I got lucky on this one. My biggest loss was a Thursday night gig. Plenty of people lost everything, and I feel for them. I've been in every hurricane since Donna in 1960 (or so). I know not to live on the barrier island. I've seen 1/4 mile of one disappear during a hurricane, never to come back. They tried pumping sand to rebuild it, but it washed away almost as soon as they put it down. I've seen Fort Meyers Beach destroyed 4 times in my life. Average elevation is 3 feet, average storm surge is much more than that. Yet they rebuild. It doesn't make sense to me. I know not to live on land that was once a swamp. My house is 32' above sea level. Most people were sold houses in swampland and when the 'cane comes, or even a lot of rain, it reverts to swampland. The water does more damage than the wind. The people inland in GA. NC, TN didn't expect this, and IMO it's our greed for oil, products we want instead of need, and too many people having too many children that set up the conditions for this. When I was young, we rarely had a 90 degree day, and we didn't get them every year. We've had more 90 degree days than anything lower since June, and they are persisting into October. The waters in the gulf are 10 or so degrees higher than they were when I was a kid. That turns a storm into a Helene in one day. Yes, it's hot. Seasonal acclimation is slow. So if you live in AC, you will never acclimate. I'll continue later, someone just came to the door. OK, I'm back. Let me add this. The developers, the same people who build houses on the beach and the swamplands, have used tacit bribes (campaign contributions) to weaken the building codes. Now we can make houses with 2x4s and put asphalt shingle roofs on them, Cat 1 hurricane houses. The problem is our making. I see a future where it gets too hot to grow our crops, and we have the plot of many a movie coming true, until it gets so hot, humans go extinct. We can avoid that, but we won't. Capitalism won't let us. We have people driving 1.5 ton family pickup trucks that never haul anything more than a week's groceries. We have people buying new clothes because the old ones are so last year. We have people buying each new countertop appliance because the folks on TV told them to. We have people buying 50 guitars they never play. We have people buying hundreds of pairs of shoes. The folks down the block remodeled their kitchen again, because the granite countertops they put in a little over a year ago are now out of style. We have rich folks taking joyrides in space, putting more pollution in the air that a dozen families would do in their lifetimes. We have people running their AC's which warm the planet, so they have to use more energy for the AC which warms the planet even more - ad infinitum. We have people buying the newest phone when the old one is working just fine. We have people cutting down trees to plant urban deserts (lawns). We have too many people having more than 2 children. The 3 billion people of 1970 have turned into 9 billion now. A major college said we could buy 10 years if everyone in the US painted their roof white, but nobody is doing that. When I was a kid, before central AC, all the roofs were white, and I do that to this day. It keeps the house cool without AC. We have dug ourselves into this overconsumption lifestyle. All it does is feed corporate greed at the expense of the ecology. We should stop, but we can't because too many people's jobs and lives depend on this. I don't know the solution. We could do it gradually, but we won't. So we are like the algae bloom in a pond that will kill the pond. Our pond, the earth is much bigger, and our reproduction rate is slower, so it's taking more time, but IMO that's where we are headed. Of course, that doesn't lessen the tragedy. I am deeply saddened and disturbed by those who lost everything. I'll be donating blood later this week, because I know they will need it. Today, my outlook on the planet is pretty dismal. I hope we come to our senses and prove me wrong. Insights and incites by Notes ♫

Mysterious Traveler — Weather Report

The Boy with the Thorn in His Side — The Smiths

Yumpin Yiminee, I was just Yolking.

They say, "It pays to advertise"

We did fine here in Ft. Pierce. Gale force winds, occasionally hurricane force, and a deluge of rain. I chose to buy a house on the highest point in the county, 32' above sea level. I call it The Florida Alps. It's the top of a huge, ancient, sand dune. To the east a 2 mile wide lagoon, barrier island, and the ocean. To the west a protected wetland. So the water drains fine (I wouldn't buy a house in Florida that wasn't on the Eastern Sand Ridge). I've been in every hurricane to hit S. Florida since Donna in 1960. It's my observation that the water damage is usually much worse than the wind damage. I say 1/4 mile of barrier island disappear when I was a kid. Everything on it gone. They tried to rebuild it, but the new sand washed away almost as quickly as they put it down. I've seen Fort Meyers Beach (average elevation 3 feet) get devastated four times now, and they re-build. Makes no sense to me. The potential danger for me are the trees. We lost a lot of small, lower branches and plenty of palm fronds. These are just the trees pruning themselves. One decent but not huge oak tree limb snapped, but it didn't hit anything that won't grow back. So we did OK. The biggest loss was our Thursday night gig got cancelled, and we're out the money we would have made and the fun we would have had. Comparing that with the folks on the gulf coast and up to S. Carolina, I'd say we got extremely lucky. My heart cries for those who lost everything. I'll be donating blood, as I'm sure there will be a shortage. Notes ♫

How do you make an eggroll? You push it!

Ma Belle Amie — Tee Set

#25 in the series

Hmm. I'm over 29

Vegetarians think eating animals is immoral But eating mushrooms is morel