There actually was a little generator that was affixed to a bracket that swung the rotating top in contact with the rear tire and produced enough current to shine the light fixed to the handlebars.   (Schwinn Mechanical Speedometer)   It is very industrial age in the approach, and sort of Steam Punk, which I […]

I had enough thinking about the wide world yesterday. The water cooler- it is a virtual water cooler- was abuzz with talk about what just happened on the Hill, and what it might mean to all of us.   I think I am safe in saying that we have no idea, just a certain dread […]

  I have been trying to take care of my health through unbalanced diet. I have cut out the bread and the sauces and the pasta of winter, and tired to add more veggies to the diet.   I am leery of what the Congress did over the weekend, and this course of action is […]

There was a van with some fancy graphics waiting by the curb when we got there. They accuse Mr. Ringling of mistreating the animals- quite emotional about it. Apparently they follow the circus around on the whole tour. We crowded around the van to have our pictures taken, and the two women driving the van […]

(Refuge Farm’s first flowers of 2010) I went down to the farm on Friday afternoon. I normally like to head down Saturday morning, when the traffic is a little less obnoxious, but I have obligations downtown tonight and needed to talk to Heckle the feral Cat.   I looked at the Bluesmobile, the Crown Victoria-based […]

I was going to explore the notion of “nullification” this morning, a fascinating topic that could unravel the United States, but I guess we can get to that tomorrow. That is not all that is unraveling. I wound up in a conversation with a buddy about days gone by and wound up going back down […]

  Two consecutive sunny days with temperatures in the low 60s is a positive tonic. The added hour of daylight at the end of the working day is also a wonderful thing. I had been meaning to visit the motorcycle in the basement and remove the battery for charging, since I have not touched it […]

I think I will wind up at Kitty O’Shea’s place sometime this afternoon for a pint or two. I don’t have the stamina I once did, and besides, from what I hear my younger son paid the dues for the family in a legendary day-long celebration by the concrete banks of the Chicago River dyed […]

I worked on the Hill for a couple delirious years, and I wish I could explain what is happening up there this week. I invite your attention. There is Reconciliation, which they have tried to explain over the last few weeks, and failed, and this week there is something called “Deeming.”   I think this […]

(Vincenzo Camuccini’s Death of Caesar, 1798)   I made it back home safely after the long looping road trip to North Carolina. Most of it was under steel-gray skies and periodic downpours of chill rain. It was remarkable that the sun graced the funeral. Otherwise, the last four days have been the color of gun-metal […]