Capitalism, tombstones and endless roads

I was driving by hicksville USA down the I-219 to state college, PA, and was rather curious to notice candles on every window. Some electric, some looked like the real McCoy. Maybe they were just better quality electric ones. It was pretty late at night and keeping my eyes square on the road was more of a challenge. For most parts it was rural roads with a scattering of houses every few miles. The houses were dark by this time, with its occupants safety tucked in bed. The glowing candles had a welcome feel to it. It was like a light for a child or spouse who was away and was expected any minute.

I started digging up into the reason behind this practice. Apparently its very common in the east than the south, where its mostly during the Christmas festive season. Some mentioned it as light for the soldiers returning from war. Another group put it out after 9/11 as a sign of respect and mourning.

Another common sight down this route seem to be antique stores and cemeteries. I stop by one of them for a quick smoke and a breather. Some of these gravestones were marked from the 19^th century. The writings were faded and the sites were showing signs of faltering upkeep. Hmm loads of dead people and others selling of selling the deceased's wares. Capitalism in its true sense.

Testing blog via email

So i thought, why not set this up. I am on the road a lot and hitched with a bberry. The thought process gets working when I'm stuck in a certain situation or two.

While on the post, thought I'd add a few more things... I've decided that I never really had much to say. The more important posts are too personal and I rather not have it online. I will go through my personal journal to see if there was anything significant or interesting. Most of it being doodles and idle mulling of a senile mind.

Tried to sift through the Yahoo 360 blog. Didn't find anything of any value or use. more junk. I'll be cleaning out the profile later this week.

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"per astera ad astram"

Meteora

All we are looking for is a constant. Something to balance our equations. A missing variable that would end an endless sequence of figures and variables. Or maybe thats just me.

So i was sitting outside and smoking a cigarette... looked up and I saw an old friend.. Orion is back in the skies. Winter is almost here. He asked me... and I gave him the same response I give every year for the last 2 decades or so since I saw him first. he chuckled and twinkled from above.

Someone once asked 'Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star, One without a permanent scar...' Shooting stars.. magnificent, majestic and sparks your mundane existance for an instance.. Is it wrong to fall for 'em ? Perhaps. But that one instance.. one flash.. if they ever knew.. They'd always have the Observer.. he'd be the constant.. the 'c' after you integrate. They needn't always be accounted for. But if need be yes..

Disappointing.. to some extent.. disheartening.. very.. But the night skies be full of 'em again tomorrow.. maybe.. just maybe.. Hate compromising, its just not an Arien thing..

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Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back to the milky way
And tell me, did venus blow your mind
Was it everything you wanted to find
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there

------- Train - Drops of Jupiter

Whiskey by the Barrel load

The light at the end of the tunnel could be the signs of an oncoming train...

Thats pretty much the view we keep in mind when working at the Oz. The unit has given me quite a lot. Experience, an unbelievable amount of patience and a certain intuitive knack that seems to be integral for all network admins ( although my official job discription doesn't involve administering the network here).

Things started off with a rough Monday and progressed slowly as issues were found, fixed and fumbled with. The front lines are still holding. Mostly due to the diligence and the earnest approach by all my techs. ( yes! they are MY men not 'the' techs). Keep their nicotine levels high and the alcohol levels higher and there is no Juggernautical force out there that can't be overcome.

Have I mentioned before that I can't deal with incompetence? The best kept open secret in all organizations is that the work of the whole is actually really done by 2-3 key personnel. Just to be fair, Oz is great. Most and at this point please read between the lines... MOST of the techs I work with ( this doesnt include my men, we are one entity) are brilliant and very competent. I guess you can't have it all. That would just be too perfect. Again in argument for the slacker.. I guess it is really difficult to copy profiles and rename. All those clicks and keystrokes and changing windows. gosh I feel stressed out thinking about it.

In other news I got a new object of affection. Havent seen her yet. She should be coming by real soon. Real reall reall soon. mmmmmm lets call her cassie for now ( Cassandra)

Oz Status: All Units Green.

Just another brilliant Monday

Another week begins. Brilliant start, around 5 AM i wake up from a dream.. I know I was dreaming about something about the New England Patriots ( leftovers from an episode of Family Guy) and suddenly the phone starts ringing. In my dreamscape, the number pops up as 'Outside Caller' and for some reason I couldnt seem to switch it off. It was driving me out of my mind. Then, I wake up, and search for the f-ing blackberry that was bleeding ringing in the middel of the night, tucked away under layers of clothes in the laundry hamper.. guh..

Day 3.. nicotine free.. and dying! Ironic. But I did tell T that I'd give it a shot, well even if it is for only a few days.

Its 11:00 AM, Mailserver is still down and 3 cups of coffee later I'm wired, gittry and in need of a damn smoke! Maybe I should blog my recovery from smoking. Hows that for starts? I wonder if I can get a chest xray and see the damage and post every couple of months graphic images of a diseased lung.

Well on the flip side, the lungs get better as the liver gets larger. Doesnt seem like GJ is going to sign the organ donation card. Do they use fingers or toes for transplants?

Update: 12:22 -> Server still down.

Starlight star bright

The only day of the week I get back home early and guess what.. The lights go out! The whole sub division was engulfed in shadow only to be briefly illuminated by the random flash of lightning.

Darkness and candlelight takes me back over the decades to instances in the past. One vivid memory is grams and the old house. We were lil 'uns back then. Once the lights went out ( which it did quite often back then ) we used to huddle together and she used to recant stories of my uncles childhood antics. It was like she had chronicled the whole thing, his growing years. There was always a spark and glint in her eyes everytime she retold them and we'd never get tired of listening to them.

Fastforward a couple of years into college, the power went out right before the exams. The university used to be near the gold mines so the surrounding, but distant buildings, were on the national grid. They resembled stars as well, distant, faint and ancient.The rest of the countryside was pitch black, people relying on either moonlight or starlight to navigate through the meandering country roads and paths. And the skies? adorned with stars, millions of them. I'd never seen so many stars in my entire life! On a clear night you could see the band of the milky way and shooting stars. God the number of shooting stars I've seen! Do you believe in wishing on shooting stars? I know I do/did. It might have been an act of desperation at the time.

Maybe I just had a lot of time on my hands back then, to gaze and ponder on the light from distant gaseous bodies now possibly long dead and gone. You feel the growing distance as the years go by.. reminds me of a poem from schooldays..
`Tis was childish innocence but of little joy,
to know that I'm further off from heaven
than when I was a boy..'

Now the sodium lights blot out these dreamy tapestries and the constant drone of machinery and modes of transport distract you for those delicate seconds a meteor streak by. I will close this entry with a mention of a iconic character, Major Tom, from an iconic year 1969.

I still hang on every word

In a world of faded memories
Where you're still in love with me
I can see it in your eyes
A look as if your major tom has lost control.

PS: The above song was actually by Cold - A different kind of pain. Major Tom is the main character mentioned in the track - Space Oddity by David Bowie, released in 1969. The release was to mark the Moon Landing.