Zen & the Scythe

    Almost everything about the use and maintenance of a scythe is zen like. From the actual act of mowing with a scythe to the maintenance of the super keen edge a scythe needs to be as efficient as it can be, everything about them is a matter of highly controlled repetitive movement. 

    First there's the "dance" required to properly use a scythe to mow.

    Then there is the peening of the blade that along with use of a stone is required to maintain the ultra keen edge required to keep the act of mowing a useful, productive "dance". 
    There are 2 different sets of techniques for the peening. One is free hand using only a hammer and anvil. The other is using a peening jig. 
    You'll notice both methods of peening are very similar in most aspects but the jig requires less  highly practiced physical technique.  

     Be sure to follow the links to additional videos for "free hand" and "using a peening jig".
     The "art" of the scythe, in both the mowing and the maintenance, is a pursuit that is mentally satisfying in a way not entirely unlike cycling. It is a completely repetitive motion exercise, a highly concentrated, possibly zen - like experience. It is just the kind of meditative process that has the potential to soothe the troubled soul these trying times can so easily produce. Is it any wonder then that there are so many scythe related items on the internet right now?  
     My personal fascination with the scythe centers on it's obvious combination of efficiency and simplicity.    
      This post merely scratches the surface. 

Bye bye to keyboard, mouse and display

     The video above says it almost all on it's own. 
     I see a fixed unit mounted to the overhead shelf of my computer desk though. 
     Just imagine this coupled with a PC with Dragon or whatever speech recognition. The keyboard, even a projected one then becomes a minimally used part of the system. It's then a matter of 90% + voice and graphic user interface.
     Another application would be as a variation on the overhead projector as control of a regular PC display projector for large or small group presentations with group interaction including  immediate inclusion of group input in the presentation content. 
     For those interested in (or capable of understanding) more details of the design concepts see the video below. It's a bit over my head.

BREATHE or DIE

          What's the ultimate superlative that can be used to describe any experience? Usually it's something like "breathtaking" or "it takes your breath away". Why is that? The answer boils down to the question, "lack of what can kill you the fastest?" Everyone knows the answer is breath. 

                                                                            
                                                            
          
                                              Breath  is life!
               

    That pretty much explains the terror asthma inflicts on it's victims. With each victim, in every attack, death from loss of breath is felt to be on their doorstep. 

     I'm relatively lucky. My asthma is not as severe nor the attacks nearly as frequent as with most victims. Still, it gives me some basis for sympathy towards Tina, my wife Jeanne's mom. From before we were married in 1977 to her death in 2001 she suffered from COPD involving periodic asthma and emphysema. 

     Anyone seeking more information on this growing worldwide health problem can begin with The American Lung Association

Steve Jobs and all of us

        There are very few truly universal “facts of Life” for Humanity. Three of them are Change, Death. and the uniqueness of each and every human being. Steve Jobs in his life and passing brings that into focus for many of us. We all make choices every day that relate to all 3. None of us know exactly when death will take us. We either accept that and behave as if it is today, as it certainly may be, or we live in denial of that fact of human life. Choosing the former dictates that we be true to the role of our own uniqueness in change in our world. That daily choice is possibly best described by Steve in this video of his commencement address in 2005.

Eee + AMD = laptop or mere Netbook?

     
    With all it's AMD E-350 APU power, 12" screen and Win 7 Home premium 64 bit, this stretches the definition of netbook. Connectivity is superior too with HDMI and USB 3.0 connections. With the latter ultra high speed load to and from the latest peripherals is possible. This is my pick for best buy of the month.

Chromebook = little linux + The "Cloud"

    This is my second post on this subject in a few days. Yeah, it's safe to say I'm very intrigued. The part of this that scares me and, I think, most older "techies" like me is the absence of control over your own computing "stuff", the product of all of your computer "work" or play. With these machines it's all out there in "the cloud".  They claim it's more secure than it could ever be on any local PC or Mac though.
    I suppose I'm a bit better prepared to accept this though having experienced "virtual machine" use fairly extensively in my last few years of work as a Biomedical Engineering Technician for Hines VA Medical Center. For a number of years leading up to my retirement in late Nov. 2009, a growing amount of my computer use at work was with "virtual machines" or at least virtual hard drive storage of my work product from software on the local PC I was working with at the time.
    So what is a "Chromebook"? The little research I've done all points to a moderately powerful machine running a TINY version of Linux entirely designed for pure "Cloud computing" booting directly to Google Chrome web browser.  So what is "cloud computing"? As I understand it, it means total "Virtual machine computing" with your web browser as the interface to the "cloud", the host of virtual machines accessible on the web via your login site or "Portal", Google in this case. Since the basic principle of the Chromebook is this total virtualization, with these machines there is no need for loading all of that "stuff" all Windows or Mac machines have to load to operate as fully independent computers. If all of the tasks you need to perform via computer can be done on those virtual machines in "the cloud" all you REALLY need to load on the perfect machine for same is a web browser. Everything else you need can be accessed via whichever web portal site you have access to. With Chromebooks in their right out of the box state, that is Google. If you have a Google login, you're ready to start using any Chrome book. You are supposed to be able to do the same from Chrome browser on any PC or MAC as well. I have a G mail account which I use only for Blog spot but haven't tried using Chrome to access any Google Apps yet. 
    Be sure to click on each of the highlighted text links in this post to see the YouTube videos on the subjects that relate to each one.

THE FAT FOX on THE EMPTY HEN-HOUSE

And the Republicans in Congress and those of that party elsewhere in the country who are running to be President are trying to make political gain out of Democratic Presidents' handling of the National Debt? Just how stupid do they think we are? Actually, though I haven't watched him for quite a while, Jay Leno supposedly keeps coming up with "Jay Walking" participants that seem to dis-prove my respect for the minds of Americans. I probably need say no more except that the PERFECTLY applicable cliches just keep flowing in my mind. Like "people in glass houses...." or "the fattened fox shouldn't complain about the empty hen-house". I'm not sure the latter isn't an original.