Lately my personal universe has been expanding after several months of contracting.

The recent past has been better than which came before. I still cannot wait for retirem

ent and discovered that many other boomers have the same retirement recreactional plans as I have.

Just call me Froley.

http://www.slate.com/id/2227962

I do seem to have lost the desperation I felt over havng to keep working for the next few years?

I remain deeply troubled about our society.... how fragmented we are...how the overall general public bases it's monster's opinion from a position that begins as an idiot and quickly goes downhill from there. A perfect example is the conservative supported, tea baggers. These people who showed up at the capitol on 9-12. This group simply does not want to think. This collective consciousness is identical to the pre-Nazi-era Germans--they do not know what they want--but they want it. The simple fact that they are claiming that too much is changing is enough evidence of dangerous level mass stupidity in action.

NONE OF US IS AS DUMB AS ALL OF US... should be on their T-shirt. They will follow anyone who waves a flag in front of them and tells them how great they are..... I am truly afraid of what will come if they or their know-nothing movement is actually successful in some way, shape or form.

A few more months of work and preparation however and we will require nothing from anyone, any group, any power structure. We are, (as far as I know) the members of a very small new group, the Obama liberal survivalist urban homesteader.

The garden is still producing--we have even stopped canning veggies out of it but we are still eating daily from it. Since we are new to gardening in this area we really have no idea of how long into autumn our garden may produce but we'll find out. Some of the produce has turned a little bitter, especially the skins on our cucumbers. Still good to eat what you have sown.

This week's MPG on our Prius was a high point for the year so far at 54.3 miles per gallon a true average for a standard week of commuting into work and then driving about for work meetings and errands. The cool mornings has help increase my daily mpg as long a the wind stays away--Gasoline here in my area of New Mexico is running about $2.49 per gallon. The price actually means nothing to me since the highs or lows of it do not affect my personal goal of using the least amount of oil i can and still have a viable lifestyle.

It's been raining here on and off since Friday evening. We are always happy for rain in the high desert---No yard work this am due to wet conditions. So we decided to take the dogs to the local park by our zero gasoline vehicles and ride around town alittle just for fun and practice. JoJo was all ready to go with her recumbent, but I had to organize, air up the tires and spruce up my segway since i have lately been too busy to ride at all.

Off we went and quite the sight we were I'm sure. JoJo's recumbent with the dog trailer attached is about 8 foot long-and then me following on the segway! We were like the annual Nerd parade passing by----The puppies obviously loved the trailer--I watched them while rolling along and they were relaxed, sniffing and looking out the back and side windows...very active involved in checking out the scenery, but really, really calm and cool. They must think it is a rolling little doggie house or something. These little trips are a test for how we can ride together with the two very different systems Segway and Recumbent--but there has been no problems coordinating how we ride together so far. We all had a great morning, traveled pretty far and it was completely oil free! The Middle East can bite me!

So I have the new air rifle ( tremendously cool and accurate by the way ) sighted it in yesterday...320 gold plated .177 caliber pellets on hand, mini-binoculars----and no DEMON SQUIRREL....

Once again the wife's arch-enemy, the demon squirrel has apparently disappeared into our urban back lot Himalaya's like the Yeti without a trace----I will spend the upcoming weekend attempting to get a glance at this mythical demon squirrel who, it is claimed, (by some), upside down taunts my wife, chattering from the pecan tree trunk and hurls nuts down upon her in some grotesque form of backyard warfare....but so far....this demon squirrel may be one of her Woodstock kool aide flashbacks or something----i have still yet to see this demon squirrel. 10 days and counting. The hunt continues through last evening and this morning......no sightings......

It is good to be reminded of the small, closed minds, like "you lie" Joe Wilson's---It is good to be reminded that South Carolina produces assholes like Wilson and their Republican governor Sanford--Remember him? The family values defender South Carolina Governor with the Argentine mistress? It is good to be reminded of Republicans for what they are.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/09/joe.wilson/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

I just obtained "LAST LIGHT" by Alex Scarrow. An SF novel on a total embargo of oil exports and the subsequent destructive results in Great Britain. Published by Orion Books, UK. I haven't started it yet so I cannot advise thumbs up or down. I am in one of those I wanted something which requires, no brain involved to read. I get like that sometimes---reading without the desire to think--just to read...do you think Stephen Hawking ever feels that way?

"When my species conquers this planet, you will be on the protected list,

no harm will come to you."

Beldar Conehead