the View from Kevin's corner

http://kevinpammett.blogspot.com/2011/11/gaye-pammett-you-never-know-what-next.html

2011-11-27T14:12:00.001-08:00

This is my stake in the ground for my thoughts about losing Gaye's Tree, as we discovered it around 26/Nov/2011 12:41 when we came home from Newport RI.

A Dream Come True — Jillian graduates from Northeastern University

2011-05-07T07:46:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my sweetie and I were the VERY proud parents at Jillian Gaye's graduation from Northeastern University — held at one of Boston's most famous venues, “Boston Garden”. It was an amazing event that we thoroughly enjoyed, even though, as Lynnie quipped on the way in: “This will be the most expensive event we will ever attend, here!!”. But overall it was worth every penny. Check out the panoramas I made to see HOW HUGE this event really was http://bit.ly/NEU2011b (similar to http://bit.ly/NEU2011a)

One of the highlights, from the celebration dinner afterwards, was Alex's reading “An Old Married Tripplet” — http://bit.ly/Alex4JiliMike

Below is a panorama, made from 7 snapshots, taken from where we sat (in the nose bleed seats) in “Boston Garden” for Jillian Gaye's Graduation from Northeastern University on May 6^th, 2011.On the right I've posted a rare picture of all four of us Pammetts, taken right after the NEU Graduation. A marvelous Spring day — the Boston Common and Public Gardens were overflowing with beautiful blossoming flowers; couldn't have picked a better day !

What rings true for me, now, is a paraphrase from Aoun (NEU President)'s keynote: “This is not an ending, for all of you; it's just the beginning !”. How exciting that is — for ALL of us!!!

ps: Check out this amazing time-lapse video clip where you get to see all 3,200 graduating seniors file into TD Garden in less than 30 seconds.

Springtime at the Great Blue Heron Rookery

2011-04-08T14:38:00.001-07:00

Back in November 7^th, 2007 I started this 4-season project to make panoramas of the Great Blue Heron Rookery in Acton, MA, making a different one for each of the New England seasons. So my first one was “Great Blue Heron Rookery along Rte 2” (New England Fall), followed a few months later by “Our Great Blue Heron Rookery” (New England Winter). Since I didn't have one for Spring… I went out, today, and took the series of pictures that you see stitched into the panorama, below. To see it better, click on the image and when you get the full sized version of this New England Spring panorama use your browser's "Zoom In" or "Magnify" mechanism (sometimes, Ctrl + the '+' key on your keypad) to get to where you can see the full height of the panorama taking up all of your screen. Then use the browser's horizontal scroll bar to really experience viewing the panorama.

The panorama that I actually created the day I started this blog article is here, because it really clouded over the day I took those pictures and the next day when it was so much nicer out, I did the reTake. The other thing that's unique about this panorama is that it was taken from the complete opposite side of the wetlands from most of the other panoramas. In this case we're near the protected wetlands on the South side of the water that you can see from rte 2.

My Brother — John Hickey, Three Years Gone

2011-02-01T09:47:00.002-08:00

Remembering the 3-year anniversary of my brother John Hickey's passing, and listening to the ethereal “Far Away” music that I chose as the background sound track for the multimedia tribute I created for “Johnny”… I find myself overwhelmed with sadness that I had thought was behind me. Indeed… Johnny is simultaneously (as they say in the song) “Far Away, Beyond the Sky” and also as close to me as one can get — still very much present in my heart.

Nevertheless… 3 years seems like an eternity. So I've decided to add one to my collection of blog articles about Johnny, today, and to highlight the picture on the right of “Johnny in his glory” — leading the way for his family, down to commune with Mother Nature at the place, near where he used to live in Ontario, Canada, where the mighty Mississippi river continues to carve its way thru the “Red Rocks” where we often went for picnics. Since my baby girl, on my shoulders, looks to be about 18 months old, I'd guess this picture was taken in 1992. So that would make Johnny 51 in this picture. Wow!

This article got started, today, because I received the following text from my big sister, Nanci, who later agreed to have me include her message in this article honoring Johnny: I just woke up today with Johnny on my mind. Can it really be three years since he left us so sadly? I am sending you all a big hug today and warm thoughts about a treasured brother, father, partner. I found myself typing the word “copesthetic” to someone in an email this morning and remembered the time when Johnny was on a binge saying this word. He thought it was so clever and loved to tease us by using it. It is still a great word for impressing. And impress people Johnny did with his wonderful sense of humour and wit. Thanks Lorraine for making his final years the best they could be and for sticking by him through thick and thin. Thanks to you Kevin for being such a great brother to him, for welcoming him into your family with open arms and making him feel loved and special… and to Karina for being such a perfect daughter to him through all the love and the pain. He was blessed more than he knew and he gave us more than we realized. I am so grateful for the support he gave me throughout my year of cancer treatment and miss him in my life. May he rest in peace. I hope to get back to the graveyard this year and see how well that burning bush is doing.
—love Nanci

To experience one of the sounds that always reminds me of Johnny — especially of us growing up on Pigeon Lake in Ontario… click here and listen to the sound of a lonely loon, crying out to his mate, over the stillness of the water.

We sure miss you, big brother !!

OMG — My Precious Baby Girl Has Grown Up !!

2011-01-08T12:44:00.001-08:00

Another of those memorable milestones in your life… on December 23^rd, 2010, our youngest daughter (who prefers to remain nameless in cyberspace) turned 21. Yup. With complete disregard for all of my better wishes, my little baby girl had the audacity to reach the age of majority and there was nothing I could do but celebrate with her.
The celebration included a roll-playing “mystery evening” which kept “Tiny Bubbles”, “Ralph Rottingrape”, “Marilyn Merlot ”, “Otto Von Schnapps”, “Papa Vito” and “Hedy Shablee” all guessing for the entire evening — part of which included a sumptuous dinner (menu) that was so creatively beyond Pomegranate-inspired. On the left check out my daughter's radiant face as she prepares to blow out the candles on her 21^st birthday cake. Last but not least, and keeping to a longstanding family tradition… we had snow on my daughter's birthday, as we do every year — even during the years we lived in the South.
Just like we did for Jillian Gaye (except that I couldn't find the invitation)… we had a "Bonding Celebration" for our new baby girl in our home and invited all of our extended family to come and "bless" us all — very much like many people do in a Church and call it a Christening. In addition to all the blessings, we invited each person to bring something suitable for her that we would keep in a time capsule and present to her on her 21^st birthday …

… And even though it seems like a miracle to me, that 21^st birthday did indeed arrive, and if you click the "Play" Icon in the YouTube player on the right, you can watch the first few minutes of my daughter opening her time capsule.

The box contained all sorts of memorabilia from people in our extended family — typically little items that were very significant to the giver, accompanied by a hand-written letter from that person to be read 21 years hence — such as Aunt Nanci's letter and European puzzle ring. In way too many cases, these letters were written by loved ones who are no longer with us, making them all the more priceless. OTOH, if you are reading this… chances are that you put something into that box. Do you remember what it was?

What an amazing trip down memory lane it has been going back thru this album of pictures (or Flickr slide show) where you'll see amazing 21-year old pictures of many (but unfortunately not all) people in my extended family — my sister Nanci and Art Phelan + their kids: Aaron, Miranda, and Amber; my Mom (Jean Audrey Pammett) and Lynn's Dad (Ian Alexander) and sister (Heather); Roy and Dale; and the newborn's big sister Jillian Gaye — all taken during the actual day of our last "Bonding Celebration" — Sunday, March 4^th, 1990.

Celebrating the Return of The Light

2010-12-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

I'm surprised, this morning, to realize that it's been a couple of years since I've blogged about the Winter Solstice Celebration, but it's still an important milestone for me. Indeed, “the Return of The Light” truly is a grand reason to celebrate; I never miss the chance to recognize it. Most years at our UUC Groton Church my sweetie and I look forward to a Winter Solstice celebration, but this year we didn't get to do that; I'm not sure why.

But this year we have another celestial phenomena that coincides with Winter Solstice 2010 — a full Lunar Eclipse, captured marvelously by YouTube's "peteherron", embedded below…

Click on the "Play" Icon on the right to watch the video which shows an amazingly smooth time lapse of the eclipse, compiled from shots with a still camera on a rotating telescope mount. Wow!

Due to cloud cover, I didn't get to watch the eclipse though we had planned a "wee hours" sauna so we could be out there watching the shadow of the earth creep ever so slowly across the face of the moon…

An article from The Huffington Post today quotes a Montreal Gazette article with a NASA claim: “the last time these astronomical events took place in sync was on Dec 21^st, 1638, — 456 years ago — and it won't happen again until at least 2094”. Imagine: even my grand kids (not that I have any) could be dead by then!

Another thing to note is that this was also the first morning this Fall when I woke up to an overnight snow fall — our back yard was completely white, though a lot of that has melted as you can see in this picture of our dog, Lady, on the Winter Solstice day, 2010. Not to worry… there'll be lots more from where that came from; I'm sure !

The GCCC Men Sing “A Soalin' ”

2010-12-14T14:41:00.000-08:00

In a previous blog article I give more details about the "2010 Groton Community Christmas Chorus"; herein my only purpose is to let you experience the men's number — “A Soalin' ” — which you can hear by clicking the "Play" icon, below …

I knew the song as soon as I saw the score when we started practicing last Fall; it's from an old Peter, Paul, and Mary album I listened to when I was in high school. If you Google the title you will even find that exact same track, which I remember distinctly because Peter starts if off with a comedy sketch that talks about the connection between Halloween and the holiday they have in England where people would go around to houses chanting the phrases that you hear in this song.

The 2010 Groton Community Christmas Chorus

2010-12-01T21:18:00.003-08:00

One of the best things about singing in the Groton Community Christmas Chorus is that for the many weeks leading up to the 2^nd weekend in December, when we present our 3 performances, I have the music in my head pretty much all the time. Some of the songs I've known from previous concerts — the years when my two daughters and I would all sing in the GCCC — and some of it is brand new every year which makes it exciting to learn and master. Throughout most of the Fall we practice every Sunday night, and even that is pretty great because it's the only time of the year when I get to rekindle the fond relationships that I have built over the years with the "100 or so" choir members from a dozen or more communities around Groton, Ma.

But the best part of being in this community chorus is seeing the “old familiar faces” — friends from / visitors to our community — during the 3 performances we put on at the Union Congregational Church, right in the center of Groton. Seeing the joy on those faces and experiencing my own “joy of giving” reminds me every year what the holiday season is really all about. If you're unsure how to get there click here to get directions.

The picture on the right is from the flyer for this year's program — “A Family Christmas !”. The flyer was created by a choir member and friend who also has a web page promoting The 2010 GCCC. There you will find .mp3 links (audio only) to GCCC clips from previous years such as the choir singing “How Can I Keep From Singing ? ” — a cappella, with a haunting solitary flute accompaniment… and the most beautiful (mother-and-daughter, if I remember correctly) version of “Pie Jesu”. The Wikipedia Pie Jesu link has the words in latin with an English translation.

You might also want to check out my sampling of video clips http://bit.ly/GCCC-GrotonMA on YouTube from previous GCCC concerts. Likewise, click here to read previous articles that I've written about singing in this concert over the years — many with pictures and pointers to other memorable moments from the event.

It's my birthday — Again…

2010-07-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

I just love the message behind this terrific card which I got for my birthday, today, from my sweetie.

No more time to write, now — I'm going off to party with my friends.

Waterfire Picnic with my Sweetie

2010-06-27T16:01:00.001-07:00

What a totally fabulous time we had last night going again this year to experience Waterfire in Providence, RI.

For the first time that I remember… this year we planned to get there WAY early — took a huge picnic with us so that we could be there long before the crowds — to just relax and watch the daylight turn into dusk, as the crowd gathers and the anticipation mounts. We munched veggies and dip, a new Vermont brie that I totally love (with baguette), and ate chicken sandwiches with guacamole, taboule, tomatoes, and cheese. Yumm !! I'm hungry again just thinking about it. I also took my camera and posted this album (on Flickr) of the shots I took. Or just sit back and watch the Slide Show.

Another difference, this year, is that I decided to see what I could capture in video because so much of the Waterfire Experience has to do with action, sound, and ambiance. Check out my video clip (on Flickr) of this half-naked “Fire Dancer” (they get away with this stuff — being so close to RISD), or this longer video clip I really like (except for the background noise) of the Waterfire basin with a captivating soprano voice and ethereal music — totally typical of the omnipresent Waterfire Experience.

As always, the stroll along the quay to and from the Gargoyle stand at "the other end" from the basin — called “Providence Place”, where we started — was romantic and eventful. The Mermaid lady asked for my business card so that I could eMail her my pictures for her portfolio. There were many other friendly encounters… and lots more yummy things to eat.

So now we're thinking about going back for the mid-summer (July 17^th) extravaganza of Waterfire 2010. Be there !!!

Privileged to be Such a Happy Father

2010-06-20T09:21:00.001-07:00

Today, on Father's Day, I feel so happy — honored, privileged, blessed, lucky, amazed — to be the Father that I am to my two sparkling young daughters, and the loving husband to "My Beloved and my Friend", my sweet wife — now for more than 3 decades. Wow! Talk about “Count Your Blessings” !!
On the left is the card that my youngest daughter skillfully made and presented to me today. It was from a picture that she took during a Mother's Day family outing we did to a local state park (Willard Brook in Ashby) for a picnic last May. And though it looks like I'm a happy and balanced "tight rope walker"… the truth is that that skinny log was very wobbly and were it not for the 10' balance pole that I had — and used to hold me up (more like a crutch) for most of the way across the river — I would have been in the drink about 5 seconds after I started. She managed to capture me in that space of confidence and control during the only 2 seconds that I was in that space during the entire "adventure". She also did an amazing job of enhancing the color contrasts and the "lights and dark greens" in the photo, which in its original form really wasn't that great a picture. All 'n all it was a very loving gesture.

After getting that card and others, I went off to sing with my UUC Groton choir — our last "official duty" before the congregation switches to "summer mode" until the Fall, and that was very enjoyable and satisfying — as it always is.

Following that we had a terrific picnic at our local lake / beach (Sargisson Beach — Knops Pond, Lost Lake) in Groton where my sweetie and I sat on canvas chairs with our feet in the cool lake water as the heat of the day took over and left us not wanting to be anywhere else imaginable.

And then as the day cooled off we all went into Boston to meet up with our other daughter and her beau at NEU. We ended up feasting — a seafood extravaganza — at a favorite, The Barking Crab, on the Boston waterfront… followed by a gleeful promenade from there to Faneuil Hall following The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway — my first real experience of the whole project, now that it (appears to be!?) finished. Can anything associated with The Big Dig ever actually be "completed"!?

Ah... such is life for me in the family that I have been truly blessed to be part of.

The 2010 Olympics — Proudly Hosted by “My” Canada

2010-03-03T12:48:00.000-08:00

One of the first things that caught my eye in the lead-up to The 2010 Olympics in Vancouver is the vista from the harbour that you see here on the right. And, of course, now that we've all spent 2 weeks watching the Winter Games, mostly this is not the view that we've gotten used to because most of the games were up in the mountains. But I still really like the picture (especially if you click thru for the full sized image).

I also really like these stunning pictures that highlight the last days of the Olympic Torch Relay, mostly as it passes thru various cities in Canada. And iff you have PowerPoint… these action shots or these from the Opening Ceremonies (with music!) are incredible and amazing. I sure wish I had been there!

And speaking of Canada… check out my sister, Nanci Phelan's blog article, “2010 Olympic Rings”, where she writes about the stained glass memory piece she created to honor The 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Click thru / see the thumbnail on the left.

Likewise Canadian… the real reason I decided to write this article was so that I could host this link to where “Tom Brokaw Explains The Relationship Between Canada and The United States” — ostensibly to Americans but I suspect a lot of this might be news to many Canadians — in a pre-recorded short film that aired on NBC prior to the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. As I sat and watched the video I found myself feeling very moved — proudly in awe, in fact — because both of these countries are very near and dear to my heart. I hope you are able to see that video (see below).

So enjoy that footage while it's available. Between the time when I first decided to write this article… and now, some YouTube versions of it have been cut off — “ blocked in your country on copyright grounds ” — whatever that means and whereever that applies. So by the time you read this, you might get something similiar.

If you have anything to say about our great countries — Canada and/or the USA — feel free to “Post a Comment” on this blog using the link, below.

Taken from the video… I especially liked JFK's quote to the Canadian Parliament,
May 17^th, 1961 :
“  Geography has made us neighbours,
   History has made us friends,
   Economics has made us partners,
   and Necessity has made us alleys.”

Donate a Tent to Help Needy People in Haiti

2010-02-17T07:31:00.000-08:00

This article is my contribution to help out a friend — concerned in the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake — who has found her calling as part of the Haiti Earthquake Relief Effort… by leading the “URGENT CALL FOR TENTS ” drive for which you see the flyer below. Click thru to see the full sized flyer, or read below where I'm 'duplicating' the text so that it will be picked up by search engines.

Do You Have A Tent That You Would Like
To Donate to Help The People of Haiti ?

There are over 100,000 people without homes in Haiti. Port-au-Prince is in ruins and as you have seen on the news, everywhere there are vast cities of makeshift tents built of sticks, bed sheets and bits of plastic occupying any clear space. One of the Haitian people’s most immediate needs is temporary shelter to protect them from mosquitoes, heat and rain. The rainy season in Haiti is imminent.

If you have a quality, family-style tent or light-weight sleeping bag(s) in relatively good condition that you would like to donate to the Haitian people in their time of need, a Pepperell resident is collecting them and delivering them to other volunteers connected with Partners in Health to get them to Haiti.

For MA residents, please contact Karen at 978.433.8239 (or eMail her at karenm_807@msn.com) and she will arrange for a pickup — you can just donate without having to ship anything.

Non-MA residents please check this article which describes the Massachusetts-based consolidation and shipping effort that Karen is using. Simply ship your tent(s) to “Mark Richey” using the contact info in that article. And contrary to what the article (currently) says… there is no deadline so please donate tents as soon as possible so we can make the most of every shipment.

This is a legitimate grass roots effort with National participation. See contact info above for more details.

Groundhog Day comes to Groton

2010-02-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

Of course, it was just a matter of time. Just wait long enough after New Years, and before you know it it'll be Groundhog Day. And no big surprise — Punxsutawney Phil today gave us the usual 'bad news' about 6 more weeks of Winter. Well, at least it's not 2 months!

So... as my debut article in the new "community blog" called “The Groton Line ”, I decided to try out juxtaposing two pictures that show something like "the Pammett Groton Woods" before and after the January thaw. Imagine... just two weeks ago the "glenn" in our woods looked like the image on the left, below, and now the snow's all gone as you see on the right.

Now... if only that meant that Winter were really over and done with!!

Rest asured I've lived in New England long enough to not be holding my breath about that. But if you are so inclined, join with me in "Think Spring" — as I do every year about this time !!

Service and Love — Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 2010

2010-01-18T11:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday when I went into the Unitarian Universalist service at our First Parish Church of Groton, the "banner" that you see below had been proudly placed front and center in the sanctuary. Produced by the dedicated hands of one of our members, the banner shows the dozens of organizations that members of the Church work with — providing service to our community.

The entire service, today, was inspired by the life and teachings of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. By his own leadership-by-example, he demonstrated unequivocally that “Love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems” — even when doing so flies in the face of our other instincts, and even when it seems hopeless.

Another pervasive theme was that “Service ” provides us all a pathway to greatness. Anyone — no matter what your life situation — anyone can be of service, not as an "isolated act" but rather as a way of being, day-to-day.
I was very inspired by the service. It left me reassessing the ways in which service is a part of my life.

After the heart-felt and very moving reading by Paul Harter, Jr — excerpts from MLK's “Presidential Address to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference” in August 1967 — some in the congregation stood up in affirmation and many joined us in spontaneous applause.

I was also moved by these excerpts from MLK's speech, “The Quest for Peace and Justice”, delivered on the occasion of him receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, on Dec. 11, 1964 — in the reading by Dave Hill. Likewise, Rev. Elea Kemler's sermon, “Reflections on Service”, was also very inspirational.

As we all look back on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 2010… let us reflect upon the values and teachings of this great man. And let us rededicate ourselves to Service as our fundamental action, and Love, as a context for living.

Christmas 2009 — Gifts that Get Given Away Twice

2010-01-02T12:43:00.001-08:00

This year for many of my Christmas presents I used stamps.com (in the USA, and its Canadian counterpart) to create real postage stamps — featuring my own pictures that I knew would be special to each of my loved ones. Images of the stamps are presented in the wildly flashing Intel 3D cube navigator, below. I also used the stamp images to create my sweetie's 2009 Christmas Tree Ornament — featuring the stamps glued onto a wooden cube, resting in an ornamental woven basket — shown at the bottom right, below. Hence came the whole idea of using my old 3D cube navigator for the web-based stamps presentation.

Use the 3D cube navigator (on the left) to explore the 6 stamps I created :
• Move your mouse into the center of the green background frame (to the left) to “drive” and “look at” each of the images.
• As you move the mouse within the moving 3D cube frame, you are in “drive mode” and the manipulation is done solely via mouse movement — without mouse clicks. For example, hold the mouse towards any corner of the frame and notice that the cube begins rotating in that direction. The rotation follows you around as you move the mouse, and is faster or slower depending on how close you are to the center of the cube.
• Click on any cube face; it "zooms out", showing you the stamp image. A subsequent single click continues the rotation.
• Double Click on an image face to get more detail — to see the original picture the stamp was made from. When finished, use your browser's "Back" button to return here to the cube navigator.
• In “drive mode” the rotation stops whenever you move the mouse outside of the green background space, and resumes when you re-enter it.

Yes… this is what I do on a holiday weekend when it's snowing outside and I just feel like playing. Happy New Year 2010 !!

The 2009 Groton Community Christmas Concert

2009-12-17T10:56:00.000-08:00

Having missed a year singing with my Groton Community for the holiday season, last September I decided to join the choir again because it's so satisfying to give this gift to the community — to kick off the Christmas season. An incredible community outreach… choir members come from Groton, MA and these 13 surrounding towns: Ashby, Billerica, Chelmsford, Dunstable, Littleton, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend, Tyngsboro, and Westford (MA) and Mason and Nashua (NH).

During the 2^nd weekend in December it was my pleasure and privilege to sing with 75 adults and 35 children in the 35^th annual “Groton Community Christmas Concert” — created and directed by Edie Tompkins, shown in the snapshot here on the left.

As a fund raiser this year, an innovative GCCC supporter created the framed hand-written score that you see in the picture of Edie's original composition “Down The Bethlehem Road ”, and the masterpiece was awarded to the lucky person holding the winning ticket. We sing this song every year as the concert encore. Check out this YouTube video clip of Edie directing this song during the final performance this year. Hopefully she won't mind me reporting her quip when I told her I'd taken this instead of singing: “If I'd known you were doing that I might not have been dancing !”. And I really like the kiss she blows to the choir as she walks away when it's over!

Since I am on stage for all of what the adult choir sings, I wasn't able to get much video or many snapshots of the concert itself. Nevertheless you can check out this Flickr album (or SlideShow) of mostly candid shots that I took during the warm-ups just before each of the performances. If you prefer video… this YouTube search lets your chose from all the video clips that I have posted from this year's concert, or you can see all of my GCCC clips over the past several years by clicking here.

My Dream Machine - a DeskTop Quad-Core Processor

2009-12-05T17:42:00.000-08:00

I finally did it… I went out and bought a new desktop machine, ostensibly because the C: drive on my XP machine bit the dust, but really it was because my machine dated back to 2004 and I was just fed up with trying to keep it up-to-date with its dwindling set of hardware resources that just weren't cutting it any more.

So I bought myself a new HP — Pavilion Desktop with AMD Athlon™ II X4 Quad-Core Processor, pictured here if you wanna see the snapshot page from BestBuy, which I grabbed because these things change all the time.

Since my laptop (running Vista) is a Dual-Core, I knew for sure that I wanted to have at least 2 CPUs because otherwise it's really not possible to run any of the modern operating systems these days. But what I found when I went looking was that for "pretty much the same price" (as a beefed-up desktop) you could get a machine like I got, which has 4 CPUs, as you can see clearly on the left. Clearly? Yea, because the "CPU Usage History" (the Windows Task Manager) shows you what each of the CPUs is doing, with time on the horizontal axis.

Man, it's just not possible to flat-line this machine — at least, I haven't found a way to even slow it down! To get the picture on left (i.e. to "burn up" as much CPU as possible), I ran my usual 80-or-so processes but added in AutoStitch, a well-known image processing application that could easily render a single-CPU machine "useless" for the many minutes that it would take to stitch together a set of snapshots. In this case the rendering that took "15 minutes" before now takes about 30 seconds and there's still lots of CPU left to do other things while that's happening. e.g. Here's a panorama of the Amphitheater in Pompeii, produced by AutoStitch from 15 snapshots that Jilli took when she was in Italy recently.

Of course, this machine has a lot more going for it than CPU; that's just the feature that's easy to "make a picture of". I'm happy with the greatest o/s ever (Windows 7), the 1.6 TB of storage (on 2 disk drives), surround sound, the 6 GB of RAM, FireWire, and more USB's and etc. than I could ever use. (Yea, right. I know it's just a matter of time until I've figured out how to use all this. But I wanted to write about it while it's still way more of a computer than I've ever dreamed of.)

My reRoofing Project

2009-10-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

Having put off "calling a roofer" to reShingle our 30-year-old roof for "a decade" — mostly because of the $10k estimate we got for that two years back… this Fall I decided to do it myself — as you see in the picture to the right which I got my buddy to take just in case no one believed me. It was a long job — much harder work than I had imagined, and it took me a lot longer (204 hours) than I had anticipated. But the good news is that I didn't do it alone (see below), and we had a really great six-week sequence of glorious New England Fall Days during which the weather was perfect for doing good hard work outdoors. See this Flickr album (or SlideShow) for the photo documentation of the whole event — with beautiful Fall snapshots, the real reason I couldn't put off the reRoofing project any longer (rotten plywood), detailed pictures of exactly how to go about doing the many intricate steps (as I constantly called on my buddy, Rob Augart, who does this for a living in his own business Augart Construction, in Winchester MA), the aftermath of taking saunas on many of the days after all the hard work was done, how I took on reShingling the roof of Lady's dog house to match, and finally Lady helping me fold the tarps cause it was so windy.

What is not so obvious in the pictures is the real reason for me taking on the job myself — that my total cost was about $3500, including that I paid the 3 men who helped me for the 133 hours of work that they put in, mostly working with me. Very much to my surprise… relative to the $10k estimate, it was like I paid myself around $30/hour for the work that I put in. Of course, none of this would have been possible if I had a real job !

On the left is my main man, Eugene (Butch) LeDonne, who will proudly tell you that he did all of the heavy lifting even though the truth is that I did my share too. And on the right is Serge, my Roosky comrade, who was hired as a roofer ostensibly because of his outstanding height… but really it was because I did indeed have an ulterior motive — it wasn't entirely out of generosity or need.

When all was said and done, I realized that this job was a really great way for me to spend time with my men, enjoying the great outdoors, getting good exercise, and feeling the satisfaction of a job well done at the end of each day.

New England Fall - Gaye's Memorial Brick

2009-10-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

All Fall, as I've been working so much outside (on my reRoofing project), I took a bunch of "New England Fall Foliage" pictures which I've posted here. (TBS) It seemed like Fall was really late this year, but maybe that's just because I spent so much time outside watching the colors develop, little by little.

As we get near the end of Fall, another "big event" for me is going to see Gaye's brick, in the memory garden right beside our Unitarian Church in Groton. I hadn't been there in a long time, so I took the picture on the right so that I could post it in my blog.

Austin's “Wilderness ReUnion” — 30 Years Later

2009-07-25T23:53:00.000-07:00

On this weekend in July — which just happened to be my 58^th birthday — my dear friend Austin had long planned a reunion of many of our long-time friends whom we hung out with over the years when he and an assortment of "hip people" ☺ lived at the very top of the highest hill around, in Littleton, MA. We called it “The Wilderness”, shown right here on the map. From the aerial view it looks like there are lots of roads and houses around, but once you get up there you see nothing except trees and the fabulous view shown on the right… and it feels like the rest of civilization has just vanished.

See the Flickr link below for pictures; video clip highlights include Austin's dream — getting an “old farts bike” and Mark's “Fossilized Dinosaur Bone Marrow” pendant story !!

I couldn't summarize the significance of this event better than in the words of The Man of the hour...

“ Well, it certainly goes without saying that the MAGIC of The Wilderness is very very real and we can be assured that it will always be. We had more than a wonderful afternoon together and most of us are wondering when we can do it, again. (For those of you who were unable to come, we missed you but, rest assured, we talked about you!)

Thank you to Everyone for contributing to our special day. The company was the best bar none, the food was delicious and nourishing and the time shared was much too brief. The "Save The Wilderness Fund" jar was full of almost $200.00 (!!) which I will be presenting to New England Forestry Foundation (who provide stewardship of The Prouty Community Forest) along with selected pictures from the attached collection. Thanks, You Guys!

Special thanks to Kevin, Sarah and Karen for their stealthy picture-taking and Super Kudos to Kevin for gathering all the photos and putting them together [in Flickr] for all to see (How does he do it?).

Remember Folks that The Wilderness land is part of The Prouty Community Forest and, while we may not be able to go INside the house, we CAN explore the woods, take in the fabulous westward vista [panorama] and meet up for impromptu picnics ANYTIME we want! We don' need no steenkeen' permission!

— Wishing you Wilderness Magic each and every day, Austin Sheatsley”

Thanks for doing all this, Aus !! I actually liked your car in the Wilderness ReUnion picture (see the original)… but did a little Digital Media Magik to take it out, above, to honor you for your commitment to “The Wilderness” being Wilderness.

Passing on an Invitation from “Oriah Mountain Dreamer ”

2009-06-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

This entry is somewhat of a departure for me because I don't normally post things written by others… but in this case I've decided to pass on this gem that I ran across recently because it really speaks to me. My hope is that it will awaken a spirit within you, as it did for me…

“The Invitation ” — by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon… I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals, or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain — mine or your own — without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy — mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself, if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.

I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty, even when it is not pretty every day, and if you can source your life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure — yours or mine — and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon: “Yes! ”

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn't interest me who you are, or how you came to be here — I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments. — May 1994

Canoeing in “The Blackstone River Challenge ”

2009-05-25T17:45:00.000-07:00

This was my first year to take part in “The 32^nd Annual Blackstone River Challenge”, on May 16^th, 2009, and what a great time we had. My entire men's team division decided to take it on, this year, so I got to be part of the Big Rocks contingent as you can see in the snapshot to the right where my bud and I are paddling our leg of the 12.8 mile canoe race. We had a blast…

Some 76 kayaks and canoes officially registered for the race, which goes from South Grafton to Uxbridge, MA., and is held every year as a fundraiser to help maintain The Blackstone River. Some of the people I talked to at the start of the race have been doing this every year "for several decades", so it was obvious that this is an important community event. Check out the pictures via the embedded Flickr slideshow (on the left), or browse directly to my “Blackstone River Challenge, May 2009” photo album on Flickr.

What a great way to get out and celebrate the New England Spring / beginning of Summer. The weather was perfect and the people all welcoming and friendly. I'm already looking forward to getting out for The Blackstone River Challenge in the Spring of 2010.

Carolyn McDade's “Spirit of Life” — both verses

2009-04-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

Almost a year and a half ago, in my Winter Solstice article, I wrote about a recording I made of me singing Carolyn McDade's “Spirit of Life”. In order to have piano accompaniment, I found the music for this well-known UUC hymn and I was surprised to discover that it has two verses. When we sing it "every Sunday" in our Unitarian Universalist Church (in Groton), there is only ever one verse. But just having seen that there are two verses… ever since then I've wanted to reRecord the song in its full form. So finally, on this fabulous New England Spring day — with the sounds of the birds chirping and the bees buzzing in the blossoms of the weeping cherry tree in our yard — I was inspired to sing the whole song.

“ Spirit of Life ”

Spirit of Life, come unto me.
Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion.
Blow in the wind, rise in the sea;
move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice.
Roots hold me close; wings set me free;
Spirit of Life, come to me, come to me.
— Carolyn McDade
Spirit of Love, come unto me.
Deep in my soul all the mystery of creation.
Teach me to care, Peace let there be.
Lead me to truth showing forth the paths of wisdom.
Roots hold me close; wings set me free;
Spirit of Love, come to me, come to me.

None of the on-line references to this song that I could find mentions that it has a 2^nd Verse. Moreover, this very interesting article describes in Carolyn McDade's own words how “Spirit of Life” came to be and therein she implies that "all the other verses" were not part of “her original prayer.” That is why I did the attribution as you see above where I nevertheless posted all the words that I found in our hymnal. And I sing both verses in my rendition of the song that you can hear by clicking on the YouTube player, above, or by following this link directly.

What's Under that Stone ?

2009-04-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

Analogous to the Easter story about "someone" rolling away the stone that had sealed off Jesus' burial tomb, Elea's sermon, and indeed the whole UUC service today, was about the surprises we find — how our lives can be changed — by looking under a stone.

Taken literally, as was the case for the Children's story, you see the surprises that had been written under the stones for the kids to experience. And they all had great fun doing so.

Taken not so literally… to me simply means looking for things (for "answers?") in unexpected places — a perfectly appropriate thing to be doing at this Easter juncture to shake away the Winter complacency that had hijacked my otherwise industrious spirit. As such, I'm sure I'm not the only person engaging in a little introspection today… a prodding to look under my own stones, inspired by this quote from today's order of service :

A Thought as the Service Begins
quoted from :

— Victoria Stafford

“ All of a sudden, without warning, …
Something promised us rebirth,
the resurrection of our hoping.
The rain rained down wet and clear,
not thick and white,
and without warning,
Winter washed away
and we were free.

Spirit of life and love,
moving in every living thing, and in us,
astonish us this morning.
Startle us.
Stun us…
Shake us from our sleeping.
For we are Winter-weary and disbelieving
and our eyes have forgotten what surprises look like,
and we are ready, we are more than ready,
to open them
and be amazed. ”