CO2 Emissions and other hot air

CO2 emissions in the United States are at 1992 levels, a twenty year low that is attributable to cheap natural gas replacing the burning of coal at electric power plants. So whatever problems have been associated with 'fracking' at the new Marcellus shale gas wells have been compensated for through lower emissions. Of course coal is still cheap and is exported to other countries where it is burned, but in our own country we have made progress related to global warming. Whether this years nationwide drought is related to the warming atmosphere-which is likely, considering that extremes are one of the consequences of a warmer atmosphere-or whether humanity will ever do anything other than react to global changes, is still being debated. At any rate like with most things in life people follow their wallets, so when alternative energy sources are cheap enough we use them. Regarding other sources of hot air, there was a discussion on PBS this morning about Facebook and other social media, and whether or not posting daily minutiae about one's life is simply a form of narcissism. Surely there is some of that, and I have no clue whether anyone reads any of this drivel,so likely I am writing to myself. But I am hesitant to criticize any new media too harshly, because both television and the telephone, and before that the telegraph, were viewed with suspicion when they were first invented. Generally something becomes a problem only when it is not used intelligently, so when balanced by other activities technology can be a positive addition to one's life. The trick is to straddle that line, which is a hard thing for some people.

J.D. Northwest

Northwest bank won the JD POWER customer satisfaction award for the Mid-Atlantic region for the 3rd year in a row...Not bad for a hick institution headquartered in Warren,PA!?! The corporation has about 8 billion in assets with branches situated primarily in PA, NY and OH...There was a celebration on Main street again this morning, which was a nice gesture although of course many employees would rather the money had gone into their personal paychecks. Still the few hours off from work in the sunshine helped their dispositions!

This quilt,which we had appraised at a quilt show in Columbus, Ohio on Friday, was made by one of Beth's relatives in 1884 ...The official quote has not come back yet but two less impressive quilts from the 1920's together were assessed at $600-$800, so I'm guessing that this one will be worth at least $1,000. I'll post the true number as soon as we get it. During this trip we stayed overnight at a Comfort Inn in Akron,Ohio and were awakened at 3:00 AM by some guy knocking on the door. I asked him what he wanted and got some mumbled reply, so I loudly told him to get lost, after which he wanted to know if "Nora " was there. "This is room 209 isn't it?" I yelled again to get lost then dialed the front desk and angrily said that some guy was knocking on the door. The front desk just as angrily replied "Are You yelling at me?" and I said 'Yeah, I don't like to get awakened at 3 in the morning by some black guy knocking on my door'. When I called the manager yesterday of course he was apologetic and adjusted the bill a little, but needless to say my opinion of Comfort Inn has been permanently tarnished. We had been pressured by time to find a place and the on line reviews were ok, but any place that lets derelicts roam the halls all night is not policing their facility properly. POSTSCRIPT: t'was worth $1,000

Random Musings

-The picture is of the Conewango Creek, which merges with the Allegheny River in the middle of town about four miles downstream from this location. People tell me that this is a good bass stream, although I stopped fishing years ago so cannot verify that claim. There is dirt road following the left shoreline on which I walk the dog sometimes, and she enjoys this place because the woods is full of chipmunks to chase-never catches them of course but it’s in her instincts to run like a little kid. The walk offers a nice, tranquil area for a quick four miles. -I just finished 3 plus hours of filing paperwork into medical charts at the office, and despite claims by industry and government that electronic records will simplify and make more efficient the health care system, so far efficiency has been reduced by 15-20% in the local offices that have implemented it. There is no doubt that patient care has been compromised,through incorrect medication lists and computer glitches etc, so overall the doctors feel frustrated by the encroaching bureaucracy of administrators and politicians. Treating patients like customers and trusting in computers-which regularly crash and get hacked- has fundamentally changed the medical field for the worse. Ironically, paperwork, or rather, busywork, has exploded. The consensus is that the system will collapse through lack of money and sheer complexity, but for the moment people muddle through, which is the word they use. The office I work in is scheduled to begin the electronic transition next week, so I’ll post the “progress” as I experience it. -Meanwhile I have distributed a few drafts of my book for family and friends and friends of friends to read, and a stranger or two as well, and the little feedback I’ve heard has been positive. No doubt it will appeal to a select audience but such is the nature of all books; writers are a dime a dozen. I’m still considering how and where to release it generally. If anyone I met on the walk reads this blog and is interested, let me know. -Over the weekend Kenny and his band were rained out of a show on the 27th, but have another one scheduled this evening, rain or shine, so he's now looking for a more powerful

PA system.

Heart's Content

This is a hiking area about ten miles from town with old growth trees, some at least 110 feet tall as estimated by my stride length against that fallen tree. The pictures do not convey the majesty of the canopy as compared to the rest of the woods in Pennsylvania, which must have been a remarkable place when our ancestors arrived. Even in their limited scope, these twenty acres give the impression of being among redwoods or sequoias when viewed alongside the remaining forest. We do not hike here too often because of time constraints, but it is worth a look for anyone contemplating a visit.

May

I have been reading some old blogs and notice that a few of the links no longer work, so I apologize for the inconvenience… The content itself reads alright-a little more excitable than I remember- but that is the nature of a journal: to reflect the evolving nature of ones thoughts and life. The blessing of hindsight reveals the errors and successes of ones thinking, but there is no way to know which is which during the immediacy of the present moment. The above picture is of a Mayapple blossom, common now in the woods and destined to be short lived. When I was reaching to cup that particular flower in my hand two small moths the color of the petals flew off; they had been so well camouflaged that I had not noticed them! The flower itself is perched inconspicuously beneath the leaves, so together they offer a secure hiding place for such moths. Also blooming now are phlox and buttercup and wild mustard and others, but I do not see any adders tongue, a normally common flower that had just begun to bloom when that late April snow fell. I think it was one of the few species harshly affected by the ice. While hiking today I also saw pileated woodpeckers at two separate places, which, although they are not rare in the woods here, that

are not common either. Generally it is the massive holes they carve in trees that one sees, for the birds are wary and fly off when approached.

Minister Creek

I hiked some of the Minister Creek trail for the first time today, a popular trail about 25 miles from town by road and maybe half that as the crow flies, intending to do the North Loop of about six miles. As it turned out the trail, like many trails, was neither well maintained nor well marked, so going clockwise I missed the right turn ( near the top of the map after the apex ) and found myself on the North Country Trail, a thru hikers trail that extends the width of the state. Fortunately it crossed Minister Hill road further on so I realized where I was and turned right to get back to the car. With all the crisscrossing trails and logging roads in these mountains it would have been easy to become lost miles from where I expected to be, and even seasoned locals have embarrassed themselves that way. The trail itself included hard climbs and open woods and passed through some of the sandstone formations that are common around here, a few of which were four story high cliffs left after the land around them eroded away. Like all of the trails in the Allegheny Forest the clay soil had not absorbed the rain water so mud was abundant; in that regard western PA is not the place for new shoes! I think the dog enjoyed the outing as much as I did, and as usual she chased chipmunks and raced ahead or to the sides or fell behind, but always returned to me without calling. She could easily have done another six miles without breathing hard!