watching evolution

So I saw this on CNN

This right here is amazing. Its evolution you can see clearly!

Maine

So with my first Maine trip for as long as I can remember I wanted to touch on why I love my cabin so much. It isn't really what you would call modern, in fact this year marks the first year that we have ever had running water (we used to use a handpump) Nor is it even that "nice" a cabin, its an old logging cabin that really was only used for logging for one season. It's none of that that draws me to Andover Maine as often as possible....its this

Its the total seclusion from people. Its sitting out in the woods and listening to the sounds. It's the lack of TV and phone (although cell phones are still usable, I try to ignore them) It's having no one give you shit! It's the ability to feel a little closer to the natural world that we have so readily tossed aside. Makes you feel alive! Yay Maine!!

The holiday rush into the Maine chill

Sorry for the huge delay in updating. I, like my friend The Sailing Foodie, have been very busy with work the last couple of weeks. It has been an interesting/aggravating/rewarding couple of weeks, but lets talk about something more interesting....Christmas.

This is the unique time of year where the last two or three weeks of December are spent rushing around the world trying to finish Christmas shopping, hit up holiday/birthday parties, and planning all the parties that will happen in the whirl that is Christmas eve and Christmas day. Although Christmas is a time which I love it certainly is hectic. Because of that I wanted to focus this blog on two separate parts of the holiday season: Buying/decorating a Christmas tree and MW and my annual trip to Maine

First off is the tree. There is nothing better to me about the Christmas season than the day we get our tree and decorate it. Decorating was never a huge thing in my house and, since MW has 5 siblings, it has always been huge in hers. In the last couple of holidays we have spent one entire day getting all the decorations and hanging around enjoying each others company. This year was the perfect example of that. After buying our tree on Saturday we hit up the Flynn household for my little sister-in-laws birthday on Sunday (that's the first time I have gotten to say sister in law!) It was a very fun time with laughter as well as some excellent Disney karaoke on the WII. This was actually kind of a momentous birthday because it is the first one since MW and I got married. It wasn't to awkward and the day was ended with a great big hug by my other sister-in-law LF, which made my day.

After the party we returned home to decorate our tree, drink hot cider/cocktails, and watch the Grinch. It was low key and just plain fun to spend an evening watching the Grinch with my lovely wife.

The second part of the holidays I love is our annual new years eve trip to Maine. Unfortunately this didn't happen last year due to remodeling of our Cabin, but this year we are even more excited to go up. The cabin is new and improved and after dinner with my aunt MW and I will be experts in all our new gadgets (including a sweet new wood stove) To me there is nothing better than sitting at the cabin with some friends, having drinks, listening to music and just hanging. Sure we miss the ball drop and all that (no tv), but we can have a kick ass party and really enjoy each others company. Plus it is one of my favorite things to be able to go outside whenever and just sit and look at the stars, you don't see the stars like that down here.

So this wasn't the greatest of posts, but I wanted to get somethigng out to hopefully jump start the creative juices. Once I have time I have a couple of insightful/rageful/fun things to post so you will back to your regularly schedeuled "Damn your impudence sir!" glory. I leave you with an excellent picture of the Cabin in Maine a la new years 2008/2009

"...and then you go and do something like this....and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!!"

So I have to hand it to Kittery Trading post. Once more I can love that place. I had this in my email this morning from the Maine Inland Fish and Wildlife:

Dear Friend of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife:

As you know from our recent email to you, IF&W had a Freedom of Access Act request from Kittery Trading Post for our customer email address list. The Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) is a law that requires a state agency to provide public records to anyone upon request. We provided our customer email address list to Kittery Trading Post, and Kittery Trading Post did pay the fee that is required to get that list.

Both Kittery Trading Post and IF&W apologize for any issues this matter may have caused you. The folks at Kittery Trading Post have always had a great working relationship with this agency and our customers. This email is to inform you that Kittery Trading Post has decided to return our customer email list to us unused. We look forward to continuing our strong partnership into the future.

Your Friends at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

Fall equinox/eating healthy

This year I am going to try something a little bit different than I have done before. I think I have gotten to the point where, although I still love partying and all that college stuff, I really want to make some changes. Usually I would wait for something like New Years and make a resolution that I probably wont keep. Instead I am going to try a new method for a year and see how it goes. I figure that around the time the seasons change I am always very motivated to make good life choices and changes, so from now on I am going to pick a couple of things for each equinox or solstice and try and keep those through the year.

The Autumnal equinox is on Wednesday, 22 September this year, so what better time to decide to try and be healthier than the fall harvest type time. Not only am I motivated by the seasonal changes, but there is so much good food in the fall.
MF and I went to Cannan Farm yesterday to pick up some fall type decorations and I was so excited to see all the pumpkins, squash etc. Such great food.

All of that was nothing compared to what happened today. Usually I am indifferent about apples, they are fine but I am not going to write home about them. I had an apple today and it was the most delicious thing! So it pops into my head, why am I eating sugary, greasy crap when this is way more satisfying. So this is where I need everyones help. I am going to try and eat more healthy and I need as many recipes as you all have. That seems to be the best way to find healthy food because you know the person you are getting it from likes it. So anyone who has websites with tasty food, cook books, secret family recipes, anything let me know ( BQ from The Sailing Foodie I am looking at you)

The second thing I am going to try and do for this Autumn season is to have less to drink. I dont think that I am over indulgent horribly or anything like that, but I think I would rather just do healthy stuff instead. It's so nice to wake up in the morning and be 100% clear headed, I find I sleep badly after drinking anything.

So those are my two "resolutions" for the season. After linking to BQ's blog my topic is somewhat similar, but that's ok. Now bring on the pumpkin pie!

sorry for the delay/grounding

Sorry for the delay in posts everyone. It has been a very stressful last couple weeks (with the wedding planning and all that) I would love to delve further into it, but I think that may not be very appropriate so instead I wanted to talk to you about an interesting calming technique I learned about recently that has really helped me through this ridiculously stressful time.

I have always been very interested in the super natural/spiritual/occult or whatever you really want to call it. To me it makes just as much sense as religion and I have always really thought of the two as one in the same. There are natural forces in the world (there is no way to dispute that)and it fascinates me to no end what people from different places have built off of those natural forces.

Recently I have been on a Buffy the Vampire Slayer kick (yea I am not ashamed to admit it)And I have become interested in the actual practice of Wicca, not the witchcraft practiced in the show. I had done some reading into the topic when I was just getting into college, but never really had a lot of luck.

Being a little better off financially I actually went to the book store and found a couple of books on the topic. One of the books was what you would expect cast spells blah blah blah. The other book however was what I had been looking for all along. It delved more into the history and information on Wicca. Inside of that book I found a chapter on grounding.

Grounding is the idea that you take all of the bad energy out of your body and put it into something else. From what I think energy is a natural thing, whether it be "bad" or "good" is all in how it is making you feel. The person in book said the best way to describe was how Obi Wan described the force in Star wars
"It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together. "

When there is an abundance of energy you feel stressed or overwhelmed. As a trick to book suggested both meditation and grounding. I found grounding a bit easier. The idea is to picture the energy in your body that you want to rid yourself of and then picture yourself pushing that energy out. This has really helped me through the stressful times of the wedding planning and all that. It may seem goofy, but if it works then that's what counts.

Ps. I am once more reiterating to the world since it seems some people may have forgotten. Don't fuck with my loved ones, or we will have issues.

A star on Earth...really?

As i was perusing the news as I do every morning I came across this article Now I have been trying very hard lately to be better about working all day while at work and not slacking off by writing a blog about something that pisses me off. I had to stop and take a minute and write about this.

Why does it seem to anyone to be a good idea to make a small star on the Earth? How is anyones mind is that safe. We have zero control over that kind of power and they are going to try and make a star to solve the energy crisis? How about trying to solve the "We just got blown to shit because we tried to make a star" crisis? It seems like someone didn't quite think this one true? I mean yes I am sure that a star would have ample power to solve our power needs, but how can we control that kind of power when people still get killed from electricity, which is only a fraction of the power??

This really brings me to a bigger issue...why does man think he can control nature? I mean nature has proven us time and time again that despite all of our "advances" in technology we are no match for the awesome power of an earthquake or flood, so who thought that we were ready to tangle with the power of an star?? ITS A FREAKING STAR!!

technology is overrated

So it's been a while, but lets get back into things.

The rain has stopped in MA so that's a huge plus and the current temperature in Beverly is 83 degress. Glorious.

Now onto technology. As some know MF and I have gotten rid of cable all together, a monumental step many have said. I say nay. I think its a great step. I was worried that I would miss it and that I would be bored and have nothing to do, while that isn't the case at all. One we still have netflix and the ability to watch movies, but also I think that your mind is forced to move onto something else when TV isn't there to occupy it. I have plans for this lack of TV (including an hour of guitar playing a day, more reading and more character development.)

This leads me to a thought I have probably 10 times a day. Why can't I just move into the woods and live. Well obviously there is the lack of knowledge enough to live in the woods. That could be learned though. The other thing is the idea that life would be worse. We wouldn't be able to enjoy any of the modern amenities such as lots of TV and things like that. We would have to get some sort of small job to support electricity as I am pretty sure MF would leave me if I said I wanted to live in a hovel in the woods with out electricity. But you could find a perfectly good house in Maine and live there and have minimal contact with all these fancy technologies. Cutting out technology all together would be bad, but keeping very to nature and only enjoying those technologies every once and a while would make me sooo happy.

I wanna go to the woods!!!

Survival, stupid and the human race

Ok so I know that I haven't written in a while, I have just been very busy and have not had the chance to.

This entry is about something near and dear to my heart...stupid. I hate stupid. I hate stupid more than anything else in the entire world. Now that is not to say that I hate people if they doing something stupid, or if they make a mistake, or if they act stupid. I am talking about the deep down stupid that can only be represented by things like the following

-People on Jersey shore
-The fact that a pair of jeans can cost upwards of 50 dollars despite the fact the material, labor and transportation couldn't equal more than 10-15 dollars.
-Welfare
-People who can't make up their mind no matter how much thought is put into it. SHIT OR GET OFF THE POT
-People who try and influence others with lies
-Baby Boomers ( yea I said it. And no I do not think that all baby boomers are stupid or evil, but i do think that their generation has set us back)
-The human race

Ok the last one needs some explanation. I do not dislike the human race ( I used to but thats a different post). In fact, through talk with MF and the Varnsi, I have grown to respect the risk and reward of a species that is not adapted to fit anywhere well. Have you ever thought that thought? Humans are adapted to live everywhere somewhat well, but no where very well. Well I digress

The stupid in the human race is evident more now than it has been in the past because of one thing, our ability to adapt. It is what makes us a unique species,but its also what makes us a scourge on the earth. Now this isn't some crunchy hippie shit either. I dont think that we could destroy the Earth is we tried, life always finds a way (to quote Jurassic park)I am talking in the fact that we are using our cognitive abilities to do all of these things to "help" mankind and are no longer in natural balance with the environment. Through medicine and technology mankind can defeat many of the things that once kept our population in check; disease, wild animals, weather etc.

Now I think this is starting to change. Everyone has noticed the increased amount of natural disasters in the world. The severity and frequency of these events seem to so much more. Now some would say that this is due to news and the advanced ability to report, which I partly agree with. That being said nature recognizes the fact that humans, as a species, cannot be supported. The increase in natural disasters, disease (every kind of flu known to man) and increased violence due to people is natures way of trying to get our population back in check. I really am convinced of it.

Now everyone knows about my survival team, but in case you don't lets talk about it. In my mind I always have a running tally of what I would do should the world resort back to the wild. Lets say a terminator-esque type situation occurred. What would I bring, where would I go, who would I go with? Now many would think of the obvious, food and water. And yes I agree that these are two things that are necessary, but I suggest looking at the people around you for your most valuable assets. Yes water and food are good, but anything that you can store will be done within 10 years (lets be realistic) We do not have the ability to carry years and year and years worth of food that would give us the nutrition we need to survive. That problem can be solved by the type of people you bring. Bring smart people that can improvise. Bring people that have skills and leave those behind that do not. Bring both woman and men because otherwise your group will not survive (there is a reason we are both here). So I know invite you all to help me out. What other traits are necessary? What priorities do you think should be at the top?

Outdoors

So I have finally hit the part of every winter that I start getting a little moody wishing for spring. Some would call that SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder, I call it tired of being stuck inside when the outside is cold and dark. I don't think it needs a name it just stinks.

That being said I have decided to write a post about the thing that makes me most happy (except of course for MF who kicks natures ass) Nature. The outdoors has always been a big part of my life. I did boy scouts and cub scouts and all that fun stuff, but I also have my place in Maine. My place in Maine is my refuge, probably my most favorite place in the world. I love it when we have massive amounts of people up there for a real party and all that, but I love it most when its a couple people and I can just get outside.



This is a picture from the winter. I have to find a good summer picture and put it up.

Fishing is the time when I feel the most relaxed. I can get away from everything and just sit on a brook and fish. Although of course I would like to catch something, I don't really care if I do or not. This time also gives me the ability to reflect back on the great things about my life. Its easy to focus on the crappy parts, but sometimes its tough to really get a grasp on all the great things in life. My favorite spot is a nice little log bridge over a small brook in backwoods Maine...glorious.


My favorite fishing spot (left)

It makes me excited when it gets to this time of year and I know that sometime in the next 2-3 months the snow will be gone and I will be able to once more sally forth into the great unknown of Andover Maine with my two favorite girls (MF and Maddie) and just relax :)

dreams

It always fascinates me when I dream. I know very little about what actually goes on in your dreams, but you have to wonder why you mind puts certain things together and makes those things into a story. And you also have to wonder why have nightmares? Do they serve a purpose or is it just coincidence that they are scary or whatever?

It also makes me think of how advanced a system our brain is. To think that our entire body, both our voluntary and involuntary systems, is being run all the time by our brain is almost unfathomable. It always makes me think just how interesting an adaptation a brain is. The only advantage I can see that our relatively weak body and our strong brains is the ability to not be limited to one environment. For a long time I thought that was kind of silly since, without technology, we are completely helpless. I am getting more and more into MF's camp of our evolution being technology. Just a thought