I have felt a very strange underlying vibe in public, at work and on the commuting roadway these past weeks. The anthill is disturbed. People have been rushing, disconnected without purpose, quickly going through the motions of activity without result. Bosses are requiring greater play acting as substitutes for actual results. Could this be simply a representation of our culture as an entity at this point and time?

Burning energy without purpose or direction...pretending that role playing and protocols that have become useless are still important?

Fiddling while Rome burns ?

The recent argument resulting in a gunfight between Homeland Security bosses in an LA federal building provides evidence that my perceptions may not be mere feelings.

We are consuming our own societal tail.

New T-shirts recently purchased for my old guy weird in public collection.

We are still in the preparation stages for the coming spring. My JoJo is growing seedlings beneath the lights, and then transferring the young adults to the greenhouse when strong enough. The new protective garden boxes are complete and the next step is to fill with this year's newly created compost and soil. Although we reside in a small, semi-oasis surrounded by the desert..... each year is a battle...Last year we almost lost and it was an incredible fight against drought conditions to harvest. This year we are attempting to put to use lessons learned....we received some rain yesterday and today...and any rain at all here is banked against the coming spring and summer.

A bad sign I feel, is the complete lack of visible wildlife on my daily commute to work....in previous years i would often observe antelope, coyotes, roadrunners....this fall and winter there has been nothing....i am worried that last year's drought killed off or drove away everything wild that surrounds us.

I recently ordered and received a Humvee digital watch available on Amazon. A drop in pricing on this watch to the $25.00 range and excellent reviews from field usage in Afghanistan prompted this purchase..and I have to sing it's praises...the nylon/velcro band alone is worth the price but the watch itself is just excellent. Big numbers, large viewing area, alarms, count down timer and easily understood controls has placed this watch on my wrist all week...and it ranks out as one of my favorite digital watches---regardless of its low price---

I started my walking with a loaded pack at work...as mentioned previously I am employed at a large facility...which has ample area, roadways and undeveloped areas which are excellent for this time of activity....I hate to exercise by orders (had enough of that early in life) and cannot stand exercise that has no relationship to the real world. I see absolutely no need for those Spartan movie Abs at 60 years old.

Hiking, with a pack on is appropriate for me, with the goal of recovering my distance and weight endurance. I intend to increase both pack weight, from the present 30 lbs. and distance covered over time. This is a simple process requiring me only to throw my everyday carry backpack on, buckle up and set out walking. No gym, no gym stink, no equipment necessary other than what i have with me everyday.....the most difficult element is actually taking time during the workday to make this happen...but i intend to continue and as with all things the toughest part is getting started.....

Favorite films include:

The Boondock Saints.

An independent film that grossed only $30,000 dollars in theaters but went onto earn 50 million via DVD rentals and purchases. So much for critics eh? Closest thing to Irish superhero's, my favorite part in the film is where the brothers throw hands on each other in an air vent over why Charles Bronson carries rope in Action Movies.

If you haven't seen this you need to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boondock_Saints

"An alliance with a powerful person is never safe."

Phaedrus