High winds, dry conditions and a careless burn equals twenty acres in flames and spreading up into the Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive. Friends and neighbors further down the slope are holding their breath, waiting to see if the wind changes.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Fire on the Mountain, the view from our porch.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Some thoughts on e-readers from the Exile Bibliophile
I think I get it. I know, I'm probably the last blogger of the biblioblogosphere to talk about e-readers, but I think I just got it.
Obviously, I love books as things. The physical artifact. Paper, ink, boards, cloth, leather, all of it. I have not really understood the fascination with e-books. Until now. They seem pretty unsatisfactory, by and large, but are improving. I'll also admit I have an ereader app or few on my iphone. I use Stanza for books from Project Gutenberg (30K+ titles for free!) and MegaReader for access to books from Archive.org (Over a million, all free!).
I've used it to read in line at the Post Office, etc., and occasionally for reading in bed when I've not planned well and my TBR pile has shrunk too low to suit whatever reading mood I'm in. I do not use it for my primary reading source, nor do I ever expect it to.
Enter a fantastic book I read this past week: A Book For a Sixpence by David Kaser. Kaser examines the history of subscription libraries in the US. This was part of the Beta Phi Mu chapbook series, which is a must-have for students of the history of the book. This is not exhaustive, nor does he make any claims of it being so. There were many places in Kaser's study that prompted me to ask questions that no one has yet found answers to. There is also a very good bibliography, index and a couple appendices listing known American circulating libraries before 1900. After a very cursory search through my limited records, I only found a few not listed in this 30 year old work.
Reading this book made the light come on. E-readers are the new circulating libraries! Sure, you get to keep the "book" longer, but you don't own it. Your subscription fee is the price of the hardware reader, then you pay for access to the text, not for the book itself.
You never own the text on an e-reader. Except when they're free, then no one seems to really care. But you still don't own it.
In this context, e-readers make more sense. When I try to equate buying an "e-book" (a chimera of a word!) with buying a book, I'm revolted. It doesn't add up. I "buy" an "e-book" and I have no or very limited lending rights, right of first sale is out the window, etc. However, when I consider using an e-reader as a 21st Century subscription library that merely grants access to works, it suddenly makes a lot more sense.
I know most of you have not struggled with this, nor have you sought any kind of justification for buying an e-reader or using one. I think however, I've finally found mine.
kindle, ipad, i-pad, nook, sony, comparison, history, amazon, subscription library, private library, rental library, membership library,
I received a Kindle this Christmas and it has risen to top dog among my many gadgets. In my trade I occasionally find myself stuck waiting for lengthy periods and the kindle, or the e-reader on my smart phone, has the advantage of being discrete and more easily carried in a pocket than even the slimmest paperback. The back lighting on the smart phone also makes reading in bed with minimal spouse disturbance possible. I am still a little uneasy about just what I am buying with an e-book. The perspective in this post helps a bit, though it does give one pause to pay paperback prices or greater to "borrow" a book in digital format.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Morning feeding February 10: A Gallery
We had a dusting of snow last night. Here a few pictures from this morning's trip to the barn.
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Monday, February 07, 2011
Fatback and Foie Gras: Stuff You Gotta Eat in Barbados: An Amateur's Photo Journey
Susan and I went to Barbados last August. We didn't take part in any food festivals, but we did eat a lot of local food and hit a few fancy restaurants. The author here really does tell it like it is.
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Neil Gaiman's Journal: Once you've got a lamppost...
Author Neil Gaiman, his dogs, some neighbors and a lamppost in the woods ... You are never too old for Narnia or make-believe.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Friday, February 04, 2011
Untitled
The big storm that hit most of the country this week missed us. The last of the snow in this picture is hiding in those spots where the trees overhang or shadows linger for most of the day. This picture was taken during the post storm porch shovel. Our deck was built by the low bidder about 17 years ago and we do not subject it to more stress than we have to.
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
More Signs of Spring
I mentioned the passing bear a while back but he was only one of the cavalcade of wildlife that has come through with the coming of Spring. Since Summer will be hard upon us shortly I thought I would give the rest of the list before I forget:
Tadpoles, swarming in the seep flowing from the barnyard spring.
Box turtles, up from hibernation, inexplicably migrating across Browntown Road in defiance of common sense and passing traffic.
A tom turkey, tail spread like a Thanksgiving card, doing his best to impress the five hens in the upper pasture.
The nesting robin, fixated on a piece of string trapped by the car tire, trying futilely to fly off with it.
Barn swallows, flitting in and out of the rafters, looking for nesting spots while we shear.
The barking of coyotes up on the ridgeline.
A mockingbird perched on Susan's side view mirror raucously dueling with his reflection.
Bumblebees, impossibly heavy, flying anyhow in oddly delicate mating dances.
A heron, high stepping his way down Gooney Creek.
In the evening, the smell of honeysuckle.
Tadpoles, swarming in the seep flowing from the barnyard spring.
Box turtles, up from hibernation, inexplicably migrating across Browntown Road in defiance of common sense and passing traffic.
A tom turkey, tail spread like a Thanksgiving card, doing his best to impress the five hens in the upper pasture.
The nesting robin, fixated on a piece of string trapped by the car tire, trying futilely to fly off with it.
Barn swallows, flitting in and out of the rafters, looking for nesting spots while we shear.
The barking of coyotes up on the ridgeline.
A mockingbird perched on Susan's side view mirror raucously dueling with his reflection.
Bumblebees, impossibly heavy, flying anyhow in oddly delicate mating dances.
A heron, high stepping his way down Gooney Creek.
In the evening, the smell of honeysuckle.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Signs of Spring
I was walking home across the south pasture when I noticed a young black bear about fifty yards away. He saw me about the same time I saw him I stopped. He stopped. He stood up to get a better look. I could see just fine from where I was, so I stayed put and stood very still. He dropped back to all fours and ran further down the little creek bisecting the pasture. Since he stopped right on the culvert I use to cross the creek, I continued to stay put. He stood up again, looked me over, and then headed down the creek bed with that loose, lumbering, but amazingly fast stride of a bear in a hurry.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Forty Maxims
I find that I get a number of hits each week from a link to an old post with a list of maxims for living from Father Thomas Hopko. I just recently ran across a blog dedicated to meditations on a shorter version of Father Thomas' list: Forty Maxims, which appears to be a last years' Lenten project from Holy Cross Orthodox Church in Maryland.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
ORA ET LABORA: The Thirty-Eight Sayings of St Anthony the Great
ORA ET LABORA: The Thirty-Eight Sayings of St Anthony the Great
Back in June of 2008, following a recommendation from Father Thomas Hopko, I tried to blog about each of the thirty-eight sayings of Abba Anthony. I made it to number four before setting aside the blog for a year. A few people followed the series, short as it was, drawn by the words of the Saint rather than anything I had to say. Over at Ora Et Labora the author responded to to Father Thomas' challenge by taking the wiser course of posting all thirty-eight sayings without comment. Go take a look.
Back in June of 2008, following a recommendation from Father Thomas Hopko, I tried to blog about each of the thirty-eight sayings of Abba Anthony. I made it to number four before setting aside the blog for a year. A few people followed the series, short as it was, drawn by the words of the Saint rather than anything I had to say. Over at Ora Et Labora the author responded to to Father Thomas' challenge by taking the wiser course of posting all thirty-eight sayings without comment. Go take a look.
Nation Shudders At Large Block Of Uninterrupted Text | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
Nation Shudders At Large Block Of Uninterrupted Text | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
Comes under the heading "Too true to be really funny."
Comes under the heading "Too true to be really funny."
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sheep and doves
While taking younger son to school this morning we heard a story on West Virginia Public Radio about a business that provides doves for release at funerals. I turned to younger son and said' "When I die, please, do not do a dove release." He said, "No way, but I might do a sheep release."
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Argentina criminals 'evade capture by dressing up as sheep' - Telegraph
Argentina criminals 'evade capture by dressing up as sheep' - Telegraph
Yet another thing to worry about down on the farm! The money quote from the article: They can't pull the wool over our eyes forever.
Yet another thing to worry about down on the farm! The money quote from the article: They can't pull the wool over our eyes forever.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Still life: farm and baseball
Susan found the baseball near the barn. I don't know how it got there, maybe dropped by a passing robin as a harbinger of spring.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
My Many Lives
I had one of the first Google mail (gmail) accounts. When Google bought blogger it offered them to us early adopters when it was still an invitation only beta. For reasons that are now obscure, when I set up the account I used john.bell@gmail.com as the address. Now, there are a lot of people on the planet named John Bell and a number of them have signed up for gmail accounts over the years. For reasons best known to Google, they have a unique way of handling e-mail addresses that closely resemble one another. I quote from Google help:
The upshot is that I get a whole lot of misdirected mail for other John Bells. It's like I have alternate lives. So far I have had glimpses into the world of the John Bell in the New York/New Jersey area, had package notifications for the California John Bell, been notified about the John Bell in London's indoor golf opportunities, gotten ministry updates for the Mormon John Bell and received e-mail ads from pubs intended for the John Bell in the north of England. I'm not sure if it's he or the London John Bell who vacations in Spain. Whichever one, I'm envious. I'm curious about the African John Bell, who also seems involved in some kind of church ministry. The latest addition is a Canadian John Bell who just got a cell phone. There seem to be a lot of me out there, and I am not even counting the "John Bell" who hacked my account last fall and e-mailed half the people in my sent mail folder with a plea to send money because he was trapped in Madrid and had lost his wallet. I briefly thought it was a legitimate but misdirected cry for help from one of the English John Bells, but it appears to have been just a common crook. My friends were suspicious, broke or both, so no money was forthcoming and eventually I convinced Google that I was indeed me and regained control of my online life.
Sometimes you may receive a message sent to an address that looks like yours but has a different number or arrangement of periods. While we know it might be unnerving if you think someone else's mail is being routed to your account, don't worry: both of these addresses are yours.
Gmail doesn't recognize dots as characters within usernames, you can add or remove the dots from a Gmail address without changing the actual destination address; they'll all go to your inbox, and only yours. In short:
o homerjsimpson@gmail.com = hom.er.j.sim.ps.on@gmail.com
o homerjsimpson@gmail.com = HOMERJSIMPSON@gmail.com
o homerjsimpson@gmail.com = Homer.J.Simpson@gmail.com
All these addresses belong to the same person. You can see this if you try to sign in with your username, but adding or removing a dot from it. You'll still go to your account.
If you get mail that seems to be intended for someone else, it's likely that the sender entered the wrong address, just like if you've ever dialed a wrong phone number for someone. In these cases, we suggest contacting the original sender or website when possible to alert them to the mistake.
One last thing: Google Apps does recognize dots. If you'd like to have a dot in your username, please ask your domain administrator to add your preferred username as a nickname.
The upshot is that I get a whole lot of misdirected mail for other John Bells. It's like I have alternate lives. So far I have had glimpses into the world of the John Bell in the New York/New Jersey area, had package notifications for the California John Bell, been notified about the John Bell in London's indoor golf opportunities, gotten ministry updates for the Mormon John Bell and received e-mail ads from pubs intended for the John Bell in the north of England. I'm not sure if it's he or the London John Bell who vacations in Spain. Whichever one, I'm envious. I'm curious about the African John Bell, who also seems involved in some kind of church ministry. The latest addition is a Canadian John Bell who just got a cell phone. There seem to be a lot of me out there, and I am not even counting the "John Bell" who hacked my account last fall and e-mailed half the people in my sent mail folder with a plea to send money because he was trapped in Madrid and had lost his wallet. I briefly thought it was a legitimate but misdirected cry for help from one of the English John Bells, but it appears to have been just a common crook. My friends were suspicious, broke or both, so no money was forthcoming and eventually I convinced Google that I was indeed me and regained control of my online life.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
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