The Subject Was Beer
Hello World,
Happy Spring! It certainly feels like it's been a long cold winter in these parts, but at least today, it seems like it's finally starting to warm up and give us all reason to hope for better days ahead. Speaking of days, we had a sales rep in our department last week, who had to ask me when Easter is, which is one of the problems you have with moveable feasts like that. He explained that he and a coworker had been trying to schedule some plans using a free calendar that had been sent to their company, and it was only now that they noticed that instead of identifying any normal holidays that you would expect on a calendar, like Easter, it skipped all of those in favor of more arcane observances such as National Corn Dog Day, the Annual Alcohol Free Weekend, and International Goof-off Day instead. Of course, March is already famous for St. Patrick's Day (and the wandering festivals of parades in honor of the saint, that can happen anywhere from the middle of February to the beginning of April, and they still call them St. Patrick's Day parades for some reason) when it's easy to be green, inside and out, and that's not just the green beer talking. Just after that on March 19 is St. Joseph's Day, and decades ago, a coworker told me that I should wear red for the day, and I have continued to do that ever since, even though I have no idea why. In some circles, March is even more famous for the college basketball Madness that bears its name, which is now in full swing, in all of its bracket-busting glory, and that's also not just the green beer talking, believe me.
While I think we can all agree that March does seem to be crammed with notable days, it can't be said that everyone is on the same page when it comes to the actual dates, not by a long shot. We recently got a new magazine at church called Connections, which describes itself as for evangelical Lutheran Christians, and this was its issue for January-February 2009. However, in their Happenings section, I couldn't help but notice a quarter-page ad for the Annual LCMC Leadership Conference on April 27-29, 2008, ironically being held in Minnehaha Falls, apparently 11 months ago. Frankly, that's not the kind of leadership I think we're all looking for at a time like this, although I might have taken them up on their invitation to REGISTER NOW, except that my Way-Back Machine is in the repair shop. I might even be tempted to describe this as a maxi-haha, rather than a mini-haha, but that would not be evangelical, or Lutheran, or Christian, and probably the kind of thing we would want to avoid during Lent if possible. Meanwhile, our local newspaper ran a front page story about the economy, with this arresting statement: "The AIG bonuses have Democrats and the administration backpeddling." Just taking a wild stab at this, I would figure that backpeddling is when you travel backwards in time to sell your wares from door to door, like Simple Simon the Pieman, from a pushcart. Of course, the economy was much simpler back then, and after all, they could not have meant "back pedaling," because bicycles hadn't even been invented at that time. It was later that same week that they ran a big story about the upcoming Chocolate World Expo, which was described as a fund raiser for Camp Venture, a local facility that serves people with developmental disabilities. Of course, we want to be supportive of charitable initiatives like this, especially during Lent, but it would have been a lot easier without the following explanation: "They'll be helping Camp Venture fund the construction of its indoor equestrian center in Stony Point." Excuse me??? At our house, we file this kind of thing under the category of "This is Why the Terrorists Hate Us," and that's not just the green beer talking either, because at Chocolate World Expo, the beer is chocolate instead.
Alert readers may recall my comments about the nearby Exxon (formerly Mobil) gas station that changed overnight into a Shell station, prompting me to observe that I have closed Mobil stations everywhere I've been, and still at it, in spite of their reputation as a hulking multi-national monstrosity. For his part, Bill didn't feel that I went far enough, and should be prepared to do more for the common good of the wider community:
============================
Do you want to bet that if you got an electric car Exxon would start its free delivery service where they drive a tanker to your car and gas it up while you sleep? (What are you waiting for? Give the rest of us a break!) But maybe for all our sakes it would be a better thing for you to get an Escalade -- it would need so much gas that the whole Evil Gas Conglomerate would go out of business.
============================
Of course, everyone knows how I worry when things like this start to make perfect sense to me. I admit that even I was surprised when I got gas last week at the only remaining Mobil station that I know of in town, and in a matter of days, the price of gas went up, at stations all over the place. Usually after I finally break down and get gas, the price goes down everywhere, so I thought this was a new, and I don't mind saying, unwelcome novelty in the ongoing gasoline saga for the local area.
Speaking of the local area, we already had our very own early Easter miracle, when one of our cats snuck out the front door, jumped over the wall and vanished before our eyes. Zanzibar was not technically one of the invisible cats, but he shared many invisible qualities with them, and with a nature that was alternately naive and skittish, I frankly didn't care much for his chances in the great outdoors. We went outside calling for him, and when he didn't come back as I expected he would, I asked the neighbors if he was stuck in anyone's garage or crawlspace, but no one had seen him. After being out all alone in the freezing cold, we hoped that he might be susceptible to cat food in a trap, so we set that up in the backyard and watched for the prodigal's return. The first thing that happened was that we trapped the neighbor's cat, and I'm not sure which of us was more surprised, although she seemed to take the indignity in stride. Fortunately, the next day, Zanzibar walked into the trap, and we were able to carry him back inside the house safe and sound, and return him to the bosom of his feline family, where all the other cats had been wondering whatever became of him for a day and a half. On the scale of epic events, ours was just a little tiny itty bitty teeny weeny miracle, but it was just the right size for us, and came at the right time, so we were hugely grateful, and if ever there was a reason to break out the green chocolate beer, this would have been it.
At the beginning of the month, we had the switchover to the inaptly named Daylight Saving Time, and the first thing that people would notice is how dark it was in the morning after that, for anyone who gets up earlier than 8:30 or so. Everyone knows that I'm no fan of these time-shifting shenanigans, and thanks to the Internet, those of us in the anti-DST faction know that we're not alone and just whistling in the dark. We have Bill to thank for uncovering this interesting web site (and please feel free to go visit them at
http://www.nodaylightsavingqld.com/index.html and see for yourself) where they have many informative resources and insightful essays. Those of us steeled to the idea of blaming DST on shady politicians and nefarious business tycoons from the past, would find this commentary from our friends at Light of Day alarming indeed:
==============================
'Daylight saving is a virus that thrives on rejection.' - Michael Downing
Daylight saving was first introduced to Tasmania in 1968 and to the Australian mainland in 1971. After a short trial period, the more temperate southern states of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia continued to change their clocks each October and March; however, tropical Queensland and the hot desert states of Western Australia and the Northern Territory chose to keep standard time all year round.
We have received emails from daylight saving opponents all over the world bemoaning, among other things: the annoying imposition of having to change up to twenty household time pieces twice a year; the utter uselessness of having to defer summer sunsets to 10 pm and beyond; fatigue at having to cope with the twice-a-year disruptions to body clocks; the relief in finding out how many others hate daylight saving too; outrage at all the 'daylight bias' in the media (which seems to be near universal); and the tedium of having to endure ridicule, taunts and accusations of anti-progress.
==============================
Heck, DST is bad enough when it's already been in place for decades before you were born, but the whole concept is mind-boggling when it's being foisted on a modern technologically advanced civilization in the 1970's of all things. But at least now we know that we can relocate to Queensland if we want to get away from DST, although even I'm not sure that the cure might not be worse than the disease in the long run. They go on to mention the pressure on other countries to conform to DST in order to be "in sync" with the major economic and political world powers, including numerous places that gave it a try and then had to give it up as a lost cause that wasn't worth the trouble, which I could have told them right from the start. On the other hand, if there was any way of putting these time-shifting shenanigans to good use, I could have my Way-Back Machine travel back in time and invent green beer, and by now, I would have made a fortune, especially with St. Patrick's Day parades on every weekend for two months all over the state. Now that's my idea of the kind of Daylight Saving Time that I can live with, because when it comes to going back into the past and selling green beer, you can be sure that my pushcart and I will be backpeddling.
Elle
Happy Spring! It certainly feels like it's been a long cold winter in these parts, but at least today, it seems like it's finally starting to warm up and give us all reason to hope for better days ahead. Speaking of days, we had a sales rep in our department last week, who had to ask me when Easter is, which is one of the problems you have with moveable feasts like that. He explained that he and a coworker had been trying to schedule some plans using a free calendar that had been sent to their company, and it was only now that they noticed that instead of identifying any normal holidays that you would expect on a calendar, like Easter, it skipped all of those in favor of more arcane observances such as National Corn Dog Day, the Annual Alcohol Free Weekend, and International Goof-off Day instead. Of course, March is already famous for St. Patrick's Day (and the wandering festivals of parades in honor of the saint, that can happen anywhere from the middle of February to the beginning of April, and they still call them St. Patrick's Day parades for some reason) when it's easy to be green, inside and out, and that's not just the green beer talking. Just after that on March 19 is St. Joseph's Day, and decades ago, a coworker told me that I should wear red for the day, and I have continued to do that ever since, even though I have no idea why. In some circles, March is even more famous for the college basketball Madness that bears its name, which is now in full swing, in all of its bracket-busting glory, and that's also not just the green beer talking, believe me.
While I think we can all agree that March does seem to be crammed with notable days, it can't be said that everyone is on the same page when it comes to the actual dates, not by a long shot. We recently got a new magazine at church called Connections, which describes itself as for evangelical Lutheran Christians, and this was its issue for January-February 2009. However, in their Happenings section, I couldn't help but notice a quarter-page ad for the Annual LCMC Leadership Conference on April 27-29, 2008, ironically being held in Minnehaha Falls, apparently 11 months ago. Frankly, that's not the kind of leadership I think we're all looking for at a time like this, although I might have taken them up on their invitation to REGISTER NOW, except that my Way-Back Machine is in the repair shop. I might even be tempted to describe this as a maxi-haha, rather than a mini-haha, but that would not be evangelical, or Lutheran, or Christian, and probably the kind of thing we would want to avoid during Lent if possible. Meanwhile, our local newspaper ran a front page story about the economy, with this arresting statement: "The AIG bonuses have Democrats and the administration backpeddling." Just taking a wild stab at this, I would figure that backpeddling is when you travel backwards in time to sell your wares from door to door, like Simple Simon the Pieman, from a pushcart. Of course, the economy was much simpler back then, and after all, they could not have meant "back pedaling," because bicycles hadn't even been invented at that time. It was later that same week that they ran a big story about the upcoming Chocolate World Expo, which was described as a fund raiser for Camp Venture, a local facility that serves people with developmental disabilities. Of course, we want to be supportive of charitable initiatives like this, especially during Lent, but it would have been a lot easier without the following explanation: "They'll be helping Camp Venture fund the construction of its indoor equestrian center in Stony Point." Excuse me??? At our house, we file this kind of thing under the category of "This is Why the Terrorists Hate Us," and that's not just the green beer talking either, because at Chocolate World Expo, the beer is chocolate instead.
Alert readers may recall my comments about the nearby Exxon (formerly Mobil) gas station that changed overnight into a Shell station, prompting me to observe that I have closed Mobil stations everywhere I've been, and still at it, in spite of their reputation as a hulking multi-national monstrosity. For his part, Bill didn't feel that I went far enough, and should be prepared to do more for the common good of the wider community:
============================
Do you want to bet that if you got an electric car Exxon would start its free delivery service where they drive a tanker to your car and gas it up while you sleep? (What are you waiting for? Give the rest of us a break!) But maybe for all our sakes it would be a better thing for you to get an Escalade -- it would need so much gas that the whole Evil Gas Conglomerate would go out of business.
============================
Of course, everyone knows how I worry when things like this start to make perfect sense to me. I admit that even I was surprised when I got gas last week at the only remaining Mobil station that I know of in town, and in a matter of days, the price of gas went up, at stations all over the place. Usually after I finally break down and get gas, the price goes down everywhere, so I thought this was a new, and I don't mind saying, unwelcome novelty in the ongoing gasoline saga for the local area.
Speaking of the local area, we already had our very own early Easter miracle, when one of our cats snuck out the front door, jumped over the wall and vanished before our eyes. Zanzibar was not technically one of the invisible cats, but he shared many invisible qualities with them, and with a nature that was alternately naive and skittish, I frankly didn't care much for his chances in the great outdoors. We went outside calling for him, and when he didn't come back as I expected he would, I asked the neighbors if he was stuck in anyone's garage or crawlspace, but no one had seen him. After being out all alone in the freezing cold, we hoped that he might be susceptible to cat food in a trap, so we set that up in the backyard and watched for the prodigal's return. The first thing that happened was that we trapped the neighbor's cat, and I'm not sure which of us was more surprised, although she seemed to take the indignity in stride. Fortunately, the next day, Zanzibar walked into the trap, and we were able to carry him back inside the house safe and sound, and return him to the bosom of his feline family, where all the other cats had been wondering whatever became of him for a day and a half. On the scale of epic events, ours was just a little tiny itty bitty teeny weeny miracle, but it was just the right size for us, and came at the right time, so we were hugely grateful, and if ever there was a reason to break out the green chocolate beer, this would have been it.
At the beginning of the month, we had the switchover to the inaptly named Daylight Saving Time, and the first thing that people would notice is how dark it was in the morning after that, for anyone who gets up earlier than 8:30 or so. Everyone knows that I'm no fan of these time-shifting shenanigans, and thanks to the Internet, those of us in the anti-DST faction know that we're not alone and just whistling in the dark. We have Bill to thank for uncovering this interesting web site (and please feel free to go visit them at
http://www.nodaylightsavingqld.com/index.html and see for yourself) where they have many informative resources and insightful essays. Those of us steeled to the idea of blaming DST on shady politicians and nefarious business tycoons from the past, would find this commentary from our friends at Light of Day alarming indeed:
==============================
'Daylight saving is a virus that thrives on rejection.' - Michael Downing
Daylight saving was first introduced to Tasmania in 1968 and to the Australian mainland in 1971. After a short trial period, the more temperate southern states of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia continued to change their clocks each October and March; however, tropical Queensland and the hot desert states of Western Australia and the Northern Territory chose to keep standard time all year round.
We have received emails from daylight saving opponents all over the world bemoaning, among other things: the annoying imposition of having to change up to twenty household time pieces twice a year; the utter uselessness of having to defer summer sunsets to 10 pm and beyond; fatigue at having to cope with the twice-a-year disruptions to body clocks; the relief in finding out how many others hate daylight saving too; outrage at all the 'daylight bias' in the media (which seems to be near universal); and the tedium of having to endure ridicule, taunts and accusations of anti-progress.
==============================
Heck, DST is bad enough when it's already been in place for decades before you were born, but the whole concept is mind-boggling when it's being foisted on a modern technologically advanced civilization in the 1970's of all things. But at least now we know that we can relocate to Queensland if we want to get away from DST, although even I'm not sure that the cure might not be worse than the disease in the long run. They go on to mention the pressure on other countries to conform to DST in order to be "in sync" with the major economic and political world powers, including numerous places that gave it a try and then had to give it up as a lost cause that wasn't worth the trouble, which I could have told them right from the start. On the other hand, if there was any way of putting these time-shifting shenanigans to good use, I could have my Way-Back Machine travel back in time and invent green beer, and by now, I would have made a fortune, especially with St. Patrick's Day parades on every weekend for two months all over the state. Now that's my idea of the kind of Daylight Saving Time that I can live with, because when it comes to going back into the past and selling green beer, you can be sure that my pushcart and I will be backpeddling.
Elle
posted by El Tango Fandango @ 8:42 PM
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