Climate Change Craziness ( #AtoZChallenge ).

       Climate change is real.  It's called weather. And it changes.  Seems like when faced with an inability to control things around us, some people will resort to some crazy changes thinking they have control of things.  And then things change.  What a crazy world!

Climate Change Craziness

     Call me what you want, but I'm not on board with the climate change hoax--at least not to the extent that some are.  I don't deny that humans contribute to climate change and I'm all for trying to come up with solutions.  Logical solutions that make sense economically as well in every other way.  

        Am I caught up in the cause?  Not in any big way, but I do my part.  I just don't go to extremes like some wackos in our society.  Most of those people are probably more anarchist than anything constructive and meaningful to the rest of us.  And if they have true passion then they are grossly misguided in their efforts.

     Climate change solution hoaxes are everywhere and they cost someone billions or even trillions of dollars--usually you and me the taxpayer.  I think about the huge solar power generating facility that I'd seen pop up in the desert at the California/Nevada border a number of years ago--the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility. 

      For miles as one approached from either direction on I-15 highway, one would be practically blinded by the brilliant light that emanated from a tower amidst a vast field of what I had thought to be solar panels--3500 acres of them covering an area of 5 square miles.  Then after researching I found out that they were not solar panels but special mirrors aimed up to where one can see that blinding light where there is a large tank of water that is set to boiling by the reflected light.  It sounds crazy to me, but that is another one of those crazy ideas that came out of the Obama years that is now being dismantled because it is not practical.  I could have told them that.

       Now they have a field of mirrors to dispose of.  Thankfully they are close to Las Vegas and not so far from Los Angeles.  I'm sure they'll find somebody to take the mirrors, but they'll never get the money back that they wasted on this project.  But that goes for most of the other climate change nonsense that corrupts so much of the world governments these days.  

       Keep working on things folks.  Some good things are happening and some that make little sense in the grander scheme of things.  Listen to the science.  And I mean all science.

        Do you have any particular fears related to climate change?  Do you believe that it will take something far bigger than humans to destroy the Earth?   Is there a climate change solution that you have found to be particularly absurd?

  

     

     

 

Bring Beer, Bob! ( #AtoZChallenge & #IWSG )

 

     Back before cell phones you just had to guess what to do.  Plans were necessary to put together any organized event and everybody just did what they figured was best after that.  Now we can just call on our cell phones to check in.  Want me to bring anything?

       Back in the day as they sometimes say, cellphones would have been real handy.  Now it's hard to think about not having a cellphone on me wherever I am.  Connecting and keeping up is pretty easy now for the most part.  I could have used that access when I was on the road working in the eighties.  I had to conduct my business in phone booths or motel room phones.  A lot of change was required since that's what those phones took.

      Then there were the camping trips in the seventies with my Tennessee friends.  We would frequent campgrounds in the Great Smokies where we would sometimes set up camp for several days as friends came and went.  Newcomers to the camp would bring whatever supplies they figured they or someone else might need.  There might be food, but mostly beer.  I didn't drink much back then so the beer was of little consequence to me.  But most everyone else enjoyed their beer.

       Yes, the cellphone would have been a real game changer.  In fact I can hear it now:  "Bring beer, Bob!  We're running low!"

  The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the April 2 posting of the IWSG are Jennifer Lane, L Diane Wolfe, Jenni Enzor, and Natalie Aguirre.

April 2 question - What fantasy character would you like to fight, go on a quest with, or have a beer/glass of wine with?

        I'm not much on fantasy and very rarely read it.  Forget the fantasy characters.  I think I'd rather go back to have an adventure with some of my old friends from the past.  Sometimes the past seems like a fantasy anyway so that's enough for me.

Aspects And Age ( #AtoZChallenge & #BOTB )

      A to Z starts now on my blog with this post.  Hope you'll follow along as I merrily roll and I hope if you have accepted this April Challenge that you can keep up.  I'm going to try to struggle my way through this and keep up.  We can do this!

 

Aspects of Age

     According to my AAA card I have been a member of the Automobile Club for 43 years.  It's kind of funny to see something like that.  I can recall a time when I thought 43 years old was rather old.  When I turned twenty that would have been the approximate age of my own parents.  Getting to that age myself didn't seem all that comprehensible to me back when I was twenty or so.  And now, I'm not only passed that age, but I've been a member of something for at least that long.  

      The aspects of aging confront me on a daily basis.  I still feel pretty physically well and I think I still have my mind.  Others might feel differently, but they probably don't really care much anyway. The fact is that as long as we are alive, we are aging.  After all, it's better than stop aging.

       And as I think I've heard said somewhere, "Age is relative".  Every once in a while Age will whomp me on the back of the head as though to tell me, "Hold it old fellow, you can't do that anymore" and I respectfully take heed.  Unless I get so stubborn that I don't.  Maybe someday age will do me in. Probably so.  But I'm not the only one...

Battle of the Bands

 

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.

As Time Goes By

     And doesn't it though!  This song is most often associated with the 1942 film "Casablanca" but it was actually written a decade earlier and recorded a number of times before the film classic came out. Here are two of the earliest versions.  Which do you like best?

Rudy Vallee  "As Time Goes By"  (1931)

      Fun fact:  In 1978 I had dinner with Rudy Vallee (and others) in Huntington WV where he was appearing as part of a 50th anniversary of the opening of the Keith-Albee Theater.  In retrospect I am disappointed that I didn't pay attention to this legendary star and engage him in conversation.  At the time I didn't know that much about him nor did I care.  Part of the difference between the younger and older me.  Rudy made the first recording of this classic song...

 

Binnie Hale  "As Time Goes By"  (1932)

      Another early version of this song was recorded a year later by this female vocalist who has been mostly lost to history.  I'd never heard of her before, but I like her style.  Did Tiny Tim get some influence from her?...

Time to Vote!

          Yes, time is running out.   It's time for a Battle of the Bands!  You're supposed to vote on one of these song versions.  Which one do you prefer?  Battles are no fun without you the reader participating.    Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours. I don't know if anyone else will be doing a Battle this time around, but you can still check out these sites.


Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
 
'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D 

Trivial Music Silliness

Voting Results will appear in my Tuesday April 8th post!

And now let's A to Z!!!