Season of the Which

Lately, with the ground too hard to work outside and an injury landing me indoors with neighbors for a bit, I've been engaged in discussions and interactions with people I would normally shy away from. Most of the folks in my immediate world are a good twenty-to-thirty years older than I am, and they're financially stable. They've had varying degrees of success, but they've all had a wealth of experiences, and now they've got options. Work's drying up a bit. It's got me thinking about my own options... and even a bit excited about creating a little stability for myself.

Foreshadowing

There was a tropical feel to July's full moon as it rose over these har hills. A tiny bit of humidity still hung from the tease of cloud that had hovered over our high desert that week, as “monsoon season” played at breaking the drought. Nights now couldn't be more inviting for late summer night lounging (where's a hammock when you need one?). The moths and skeeters are incessant, the squash fatten to calf-size overnight, and the Chaco lines (or is it a dirt tan?) are beginning to look permanent.

“Revel in it now,” I remind myself... we've turned the corner toward Winter. That's right, Texas, Winter's on the march.

Photo, courtesy of my future-Texas-ex-pat friend Ryan.

State Sovereignty Shuffle (or... "Came and Took It")

Article: Texas vs. TSA - Round 1 goes to the Feds.

 ...Now, I imagine many of (the five or six of) you who read this won't see the conflict in the federal government putting its foot down on Texas outlawing the TSA's invasive pat-down procedures. By now, we are conditioned to accept that the Federal Way is the golden standard. A state that chooses to operate differently is painted as a collection of yokels or militia men who should be considered either incompetent to govern themselves or dangerous to our grand Nation's democracy.

But when Texas' House voted 138-0 to pass a bill banning TSA searches "without probable cause," the federal government's reaction was to exercise its authoritarian authority. U.S. Attorney John Murphy told Texas

...the feds would have to respond by shutting down Texas airports as it “could not ensure the safety of passengers and crew.”

...a blockade? Really?

History, help me out. Something in this whole threat of a transportation kibosh sounds familiar....

This is Not a Test

Among the unbelievable heap of events and developments piling up all at once, there are a few that I'd like to highlight. These are structures or programs whose impending intent is to gain control over large groups of people by using either fetishes, fear, or guilt to pry open the grip we still hold on our natural freedom.

* The first:
Google I/O 2011: Google wants to control your home - May. 11, 2011

 

"Connected devices like home media equipment, dishwashers, cars, and lights could soon be able to be controlled using the new platform....The chief obstacle to making that happen across all connected devices is finding a single, open standard to control everything you own," said Joe Britt, head of the Android@Home team.

Eric Holland, a vice president of LED manufacturer Lighting Science, added: "The advantage of Android@Home is that any developer can write an application to control the lights. They don't need to learn any proprietary protocol... one app could control fixtures from all participating lighting companies... Robots powered by Android smartphones and tablets were wandering around the conference... 

"Soon, you may be using your phone to interact with all the devices in your home -- whether they beg you to or not." 

The Road Show

So that thing about "yielding to life" I mentioned in my last post... well, let's just call it a well-timed lesson learned.

The sandstorm that came through in my last post was stronger than I thought. As soon as I'd picked up my shovel to set down roots, the winds changed and picked me up instead. I closed my eyes to this...

 

...and opened them up to this:

 Oz, minus the shorties.

Going with It.

Finally. The fat-encrusted sky finally turns from dirt to drizzle at 11pm.

Sunrise promised gentle conditions for the encyclopedic list of work I hoped to set in motion around the yard.

(Oh yeah - I now have a yard. You can't hold me, son.)

Queue bird-chirping and flute music.

After puppies were fed, mama had her coffee, and seed starts had their drinks of water, the sun somehow still hadn't made an appearance. After a trip to the hardware store, and yet more coffee... still no sun. About the time I was gathering string and shovel to head to the wheel barrow and start excavating 400 square feet of garden, in it came. The Wind. A miles-wide cloud of dirt not yet root-bound to the ground was raptured toward the heavens, where it caught a 60mph straight-line gust straight to my face.

(Aforementioned fat-encrusted sky obliterating view of previously sunrise-lit mountains. Boooo.)

Happy Trails, Houdini.

I hope you find the peace you're seeking, dear girl.