My brother, Roy Mackenzie Paterson, Jr. died at 17:05 today, after a long bout with progressively worsening COPD. He was watching a football game with his youngest son, and at the end of the game he closed his eyes and passed gently and without pain. All who know him will miss his unique presence.

We're coming. Someday.

See: http://i.imgur.com/GZf95.jpg

Happy New Year, y'all.

Here's a nice thought from Carl Sagan:

"The sky calls to us.
If we do not destroy ourselves,
we will, someday, venture to the stars."

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=zSgiXGELjbc

We have had "Birthers" who still don't believe President Obama is an American citizen, even though his full birth certificate has now been published, and "Truthers" who reject the accepted explanation of the events of 9/11. Now we have "Proofers", who argue that the decision not to release photographs of the dead Osama bin Laden proves that he wasn ( Read more... )

For anyone other than myself who may read this, I became a grandfather at 13:31 on 1/11/11 !!
The new arrival is one Eva Sophia (zeroband). Parents ( Read more... )

... but it's nearing the end. Unless the light I see at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train.

We have been subsumed in the painting of the interior of our house. The whole thing. While we continue to live in it. If you are ever tempted to do this, just take it from someone who knows and don'tToday sees the beginning of the last of five ( Read more... )

Saturday saw the running of "T5.5": the fifth iteration of our annual "TipToe Thru The Tulips" road rally. on which ( Read more... )

Blankety-blank pollen is indeed blanketing the world just now. Achoo! Everytime I go outside to fiddle in the yard or take my constitutional walk around the block, by the time I get in my eyes are burning and my lungs are full of yellow dust. Achoo! My beautiful white oak tree is not only shedding its pollen but also the little strings of ( Read more... )

Yeah, I'm late with the annual Gebürtstages note by a few weeks. Time just seems to ooze away these days without my noticing.

Anyway, yet another year has passed and I have learned very little, other than the obvious: that getting older does NOT guarantee any increase in wisdom. Only in aches and creaking of joints. But to paraphrase Descartes ( Read more... )

Something I found in a really obscure place made me want to share:

"Strangers rarely give away anything about themselves.  Lovers must trust each other with full knowledge of their true selves, and be comfortable being naked in each other's presence.  Physical nakedness is relatively simple for our sexual drives carry us forward like a rising tide ( Read more... )