When Did WEIRD Become the New "Norm?"...
Today is sure starting out differently than yesterday...no rain, just a bit on the "cool" side, with highs to day in the low-mid seventies.
We will be getting rain later on tonight, so don't pack away the umbrella JUST yet.
And we used to think it was odd when we had temps in the 70s in January (back in the early 1970s), so maybe this isn't all that bad...yet.
*** First off today, an update on the man who fatally shot himself in his basement on the 1000 block of Curdes Ave.
As I said here yesterday, it "appeared" like an accident (and I commented accordingly), but today, the coroner states that the 85-year old man committed suicide instead. Helluva way to go, considering the longevity of the person.
The missus and I were speculating on possible senility that caused the firearm discharge...or just plain forgetfulness.
Hey, it can happen...the idea is to make sure it doesn't.
*** Next up, if you're like me (and that alone should scare the hell outta everyone else in the world), you go about your day or evening, flicking on lights, turning them out, and never giving it a second thought, right?
Well, you might want to think a bit more on such things, and pretty soon, too.
One of THE mainstays of the American household, the indispensable incandescent lightbulb is going "bye-bye"...
Yeah, we knew this was coming like a jail-on-wheels, but did you know the "game plan" from the DoE?
It goes something like THIS:
1) 100 watt bulbs will be phased out by 1 Jan 2012, so that means if you have any device around the home that uses one, you MIGHT want to stock up NOW...you've only got a little over TWO MONTHS to do so.
Now that doesn't directly affect us, but the next stages of this "masterplan" will definitely affect us ALL.
2) 75 watt bulbs will be phased out by 1 Jan 2013, and when it comes to porch lighting, this bulb seems to fit the bill (and most outdoor fixtures) the best. We've already begun to stockpile these. Many people use these for living room lamps as well, and it's the most frequently used bulb for such, as nearly every indoor fixture maintains that the MAXIMUM wattage allowed is 75w.
Well, we've got a YEAR to go with those, but wait, it gets even better...
3) 60 watt (and lower) will be phased out by 1 Jan 2014, and when it comes to specialty lighting, THESE guys tend to get the job done nicely.
Everything from the small globes around the bathroom mirror, to night-lights, and even the "small appliance bulb" in the reliable refrigerator (40w max).
Lighting used in microwave ovens and convection ovens will be affected, too.
And yes, even if you have some old Christmas tree lighting that requires the R-7 type of bulb (teardrop-shaped)...THEY will be going "hasta la vista, baby". This will also include flood lights and spotlights either for indoor or outdoor applications.
So, will we all be sitting in the dark, eventually?
Will CANDLES come back in vogue?
Not to worry, because we WILL have (at our EPA-mandated disposal) the CFL bulbs (curly-fries bulb), otherwise know as FLUORESCENTS.
Now, while I prefer these as basement/rec room/garage or shop lighting, I have NO desire to have these ALL over my frigging house in every damn room...period.
And I don't want to get an EPA edict whenever one of these breaks, causing the dispatch of some HAZMAT team to quarantine our living room while they clean up the mercury found inside these bulbs (even though it's "vapor"..so they say).
At least outdoor lighting has HALOGEN substitutes available (had them in auto headlights for DECADES), and there's even something ONE STEP BETTER...(please, tell us, Bob...)
We now have LED "bulbs" available for home use. Yes, Virginia, they're not just for flashlights and signage ANY longer.
There is one..."small" issue with such bulbs, though...they cost about FIFTY times more than a typical incandescent bulb (yikes!)...I thought that would get your attention. Hey, at last the toxic CFLs are cheaper now, right?
The good news with the LED bulbs is that they'll last up to TWENTY-FIVE YEARS...!!!
Nice to know the damn bulbs will outlast grandma and grandpa at the nursing home, right?
Hell, they'll outlast me at that rate!
Now, the DoE tells us the incandescents are "inefficient", and that 70% of the energy used by them is given off NOT as illumination, but as HEAT.
So what's the problem with that in say...THE WINTER???
And during the SUMMER, it stays light outside LONGER, so we use LESS electricity powering lightbulbs INSIDE, right?
(too busy using it for the A/C)
Maybe it's just ME, but I'm not really following the "logic" behind the Energy Department and their cute, little "mandates"...
It could be that the CFLs are made in CHINA.
Again, we're seeing a government "intruding" into our very living rooms and bedrooms with such nonsense.
They claim we "need" to have better bulbs than the incandescents, while ALSO telling us we "need" to have hybrid or (even better for everyone) ELECTRIC CARS...((yawn))...now, did anyone think to tell the DoE that BOTH of these items require a "fuel-source", and that such a source is...(wait for it)...COAL?
*** This always gets my GOAT (if I had one, that is), and there has to be a lot of us that have come to similar conclusions as I have...I know I'm not alone here. Our government has overstepped it's boundaries...A LOT (and all too often)!
And it's certainly NOT taking us down a path to some "Utopian" existence...is it?
If anything, it's leading us all in the exact opposite direction, and that brings us to a word I want you to become very familiar with, because it's been around for some time (since 1865 anyway), and it's becoming MORE prevalent each and every day...if we take time to look around us.
The word is DYSTOPIA.
I've used it here a few times, but I feel it's high time we all became acquainted with it a wee bit more.
The definition is as follows:
--DYSTOPIA: n, a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.
Now, this nation isn't there YET, but we do exhibit the "symptoms" of such a malaise.
And one of those symptoms can be summed up in one word, as well:
The word is ENTROPY.
--ENTROPY: n, Inevitable and steady deterioration of a system or society.
I'm using these as precursors to that post I mentioned yesterday that will be forthcoming.
I think it's important that we know what part we play in this story of humankind, and while that might seem a bit overwhelming, I can assure you that each of us is as important to one another as well as ourselves, if we are to see this nation continue in a manner more in tune with what the Founders envisioned.
Sadly, we've gotten a bit "off-track" of late, but we are seeing rays of hope shining through the clouds of apathy and disillusionment.
I would trust that many of you out there have been following news and events, both near and far, and that you've been arming yourselves with the knowledge YOU need to know the truth, and see past the smoke and mirrors.
And, if you're also like me, you've been seeking the WISDOM to properly apply such knowledge, and in the proper context, so that others may learn as well. According to those of you that blog regularly, I think I'm in good company in that regard.
To think this can all start with something as innocuous as a damn lightbulb...amazing.
But, all one has to do is look about, and see the turmoil, the bad decisions by so-called "leaders", the laziness of an entitlement-driven populace, the lack of purpose for revolt, other than to do so, and a government that seems to not know (or care) what it's right hand is doing when it moves it's left one, other than to make your life "better" through THEIR involvement (read intrusion).
Sorry, just not seeing the reasoning there at all.
Empowerment to educate ourselves...to know what is right...and just for all...THAT is a motivational force, or it should be.
We are not a group of anonymous lemmings being led to the next cliff.
We are ALL individuals with the right to life, the right to choose, and the right to BE who we wish to be.
It's the whole LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS gig...at least it should be.
That's why I often say that the "good old days" were just that...GOOD.
(compared to today, anyway)
We can get back to such times, but it won't happen overnight, and certainly won't happen without personal involvement on some level.
If we can hold OURSELVES accountable AS WELL AS responsible, then by God, we can hold our GOVERNMENT JUST AS MUCH so.
Or, we can vote them the hell out of office, wipe the slate clean, and start anew.
The CHOICE is always ours...at least for the time being, or until the government decides FOR us, because they're so worried about "us", and we can't make such decisions on our OWN...
I think if given such alternatives, we WILL decide for ourselves.
And I believe we WILL make the right decision for ourselves and this country.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.