ok i give up ignore former terminal post. when and a big if i can put this thing away in for example the way back machine or whatever, i'll stop. but it occurs to me that posting something, even if it's drivel, has become a deep habit so i'll deal w/ it later. took the picture above out kitchen window a day or two ago.

this blog is terminated, seems like a good time to do it, new year & all.

a brief history: started it long ago, learned to write each morning off the top of my head, heavy into politics and culture during the bush years, wars for profit etc., gradually lost interest in this domain after working for obama's election, began to concentrate more and more on creating pictures, music, animation while simultaneously losing the ability to type much on account of arthritic right thumb, to the point where i was only putting up a jpg a day and a link or two.

the archives will remain online. i'll start another blog soon, this one minimal with the occasional posting, advise RSS feed so you will know. meanwhile modernpeasant.com will continue, new and improved.

pretty slick (and easy) random moderpeasant photo sampler

DropMocks

Watch a meteor shower tonight in Asheville area | citizen-times.com | Asheville Citizen-Times: "Watch a meteor shower tonight"

last year. no the year this is the last day of. this is the path i am walking in my dreams.

interesting shot: it was way underexposed. i used brightness adjustment, converted it to 32 bit, then back to 16 bit and used adaptive to tone map it.

as i am sure i have said before it keeps me off the streets. so did the ice and wind and cold. 

sun is out now, i've dug out the truck, can probably make it out after another hour of sun. run some overdue errands. 

in the last two days i've helped push 4 or 5 vehicals over a tiny rise in the road that stops a lot of folks.

a shot from yesterday, i didn't take many, it was pretty cold.

still is.

yesterday, christmas, outside my front door. spent the day alone, cleaning stuff, working on a few movies, and a cd that popped out of nowhere when i looked at some recording and mixing i'd done during this month. attempted to work with air dried clay, my 2nd attempt, did not turn out as i planned. phones were inoperable most of the day. today plan to keep on keeping on.

good morning, good month, good year, good era, good to know you. suggested bumper sticker for next year, from xmas advice given to me by neighbor kathy:

have fun with other people

never can quite keep straight in my mind which is the solstice, but if it was last night i spent it in a yurt at my 3rd cousin myria's and charlies. almost balmy weather, especially compared to the cold spell of last month, week, whenever it was. expect to be here christmas day, ruminating, brooding, meditating, stepping out of the picture frame, or maybe jnust taking a break.

What's wrong with the sun? - space - 14 June 2010 - New Scientist

What's wrong with the sun? - space - 14 June 2010 - New Scientist: "What's wrong with the sun?"

New Scientist TV: Going global: Watch how solar eruptions are connected

New Scientist TV: Going global: Watch how solar eruptions are connected: "Until now it hasn't been possible to prove a link between numerous events of solar activity, although the idea that they are linked somehow has been around for decades. To come to their conclusions, the team studied data from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and twin STEREO spacecraft, and plotted the events they saw on a map of the sun's magnetic fields"

things to do after christmas: shop drop & slop. transformation or bust. head for higher ground. learn sanskrit.

i'm not a big christmas person, considering it mainly another commercial enterprise, it's dubious sole value being a kind of test. today my printer broke and i switched to a back up, swapping ink cartridges etc. two trips to staple's, because i have the habit of making christmas cards and as in past years was running late. the radio said it was two degrees around 4 o'clock, and all in all it resembled late january in a lot of ways. i'd like to say something about the obsessiveness that drive's a day like today but really don't know what to say except the occasional bouts i experience on some projects leaves a real mess behind.

monday morning, an icon for the winter. heard sometime last night, or maybe dreamt it, no matter where you live in the USA you don't go outdoors for 2 - 3 months, either summer or winter. today i am not going outdoors. doctor's appt. at 11 :30, but doubtful i'll make it. nothing pressing except life which includes some sort of xmas card to make and mail. on the up side, i struggled into town sat. to buy long underwear, first pair i've needed since the 80's when i lived in higher mountains and wood heat, but neo-old age finally changed that. sat nite saw a few old friends, a quiet bunch for the most part, unlike years way passed.

grandaughter natalie. last week in chapel hill. here in asheville we're not snowed in. yet. but pretty cold.

just got back from the triangle no not bermuda visited with children grandchildren & friends. while i was there my old friend jeff sloan died from non-hodgkin's lymphoma last sat. nite/sunday morning.  i'm still in shock.

 my dad is doing well after a fall that onto concrete over the holidays. my sister drove him back from phoenix to prescott straight to doc where stitches were removed. has a bruise slowly descending from hips to feet and can't get around easily. i'm thankful that sister jane is with him i hope for a few more days.

was surprised to find yesterday that he was being set up w/ a wireless and skype, an undertaking that must have been started earlier because ISP was already established and spoke w/ jane vis skype while i was scurrying around getting ready to head east this morning. a very knowledgeable neighbor is helping him set this thing up who apparently works with older folks regularly and may make all the difference in the world. i expect and hope he approches this new trick for old dog incrementally, he has a lot of healing to do before he wades in. potential problems are eyesight - bigger 2nd monitor? - and hearing - he has a gadget that transmits tv audio to headphones, something like that? - but all in good time.

i am ready to load truck and vamoose, realistically speaking should be on the road 10:30 or 11, puts me at jim's @ 2:30, nicol's later when she gets back from work. will email right before i leave.

packing today, cleaning up, hit the road (briefly) early tomorrow.

Get Better At Math By Disrupting Your Brain: Scientific American:
 "If the brain functions by optimizing behavior, it might be possible to worsen numerical competence by disrupting parietal function, but it should not be possible to enhance it that way."