Missing newspaper

My newspaper was not in my driveway this morning.  And I was surprised by how much that bothered me.  My Sunday morning routine was disrupted.  My comfortable world tilted. 

It's not like I don't have other sources of news.  In fact, the newspaper is getting to be an anachronism in a digital world.  The news is available - and more current - on-line.  And I can get on-line either by booting up my computer or by browsing on my smart phone.

So if not the news, what was I missing?   Well, I read when I eat.  Always have.  Probably always will.  But without the newspaper to entertain me, I read an interesting article on lynx preservation efforts in Montana in the Smithsonian magazine. 

So I wasn't missing the news or going without something to read.  So what?

I think part of what I missed was the tradition.  And part was familiarity and ease.  I know where I can find the Clay Thompson column, Montini, Roberts, the weather, the lottery numbers.  And since it was Sunday, I knew I would find Brand's column and the pet of the week in the Living section.  The color comics are have always been a Sunday favorite. All of this in one handy package that lays flat on my table for easy reading with my morning bagel.

I've considered a Kindle with a newspaper subscription.  But I don't think reading the paper on a Kindle will feel the same.

Traditionalist?  Or Luddite?

Technology sneaks up on you.

Despite working in the tech industry, around guys to whom early adoption is a calling, I do not feel the urge to embrace every new tech trend.

I need a reason to change.  For example, I only bought my first microwave because the choice at the time was microwave or stove and a microwave was supposed to be more versatile.  Now, my stove is more like a counter top that occasionally heats up, while my microwave gets daily use.

My first cell phone became a necessity when my car was having mechanical problems and I didn't want to be stranded.  All it did was make phone calls.  I saw no need for it to be anything else.  I don't make phone calls anyway. I use about 20 minutes a month on average.

About a year ago, I finally jumped on the smart phone wagon.  I liked the idea of the Android operating system.  I had become enamored of Twitter and Facebook.  I thought it would be nice to be able to keep up with e-mail and social networking  without having to boot up my computer. (I keep the computer turned off in an attempt to be more green.). 

It turns out that I use my phone every day.  I check Twitter, Facebook, Google mail.  I keep notes for my journal.  I check the time.  I set the alarm.  I have games to keep me from going stir crazy in lines or waiting rooms.  I frequently text Google to get definitions of words in books I am reading.  I still don't use it to make phone calls.

Then my phone broke.  I could receive calls, read e-mail, but do nothing else.  I was phone deprived for a mere week and I was bereft. 

Seriously.  There are other ways to do all these things. I can boot up my computer to update my journal, check Twitter, Facebook, and gmail.  I have actual alarm clocks and stove timers.  I even have a Palm Zire I can play games on. The only thing I didn't have was a texting replacement, nor did I look for one.

But I found myself several times a day reaching for my phone before realizing it wouldn't do what I required.

So it was a relief to see that welcome white box on my doorstep yesterday with my replacement phone.  I spent a couple hours getting the new one set up to my liking.

Mental calm has been restored.

Confidence - where do I get some?

I pulled up to the mailbox today and a teenage boy was walking past.  I had barely started to smile when he waved and said Hi.

Where does the confidence to talk to a stranger come from?  Here is a teen that was friendly without hesitation.  I, definitely not a teen, had to think before I smiled at him.  Not that he was scary looking.  No, it's just that my first instinct is to try to be invisible, unnoticed.

So is confidence inborn or learned? 

I have always been shy.  It is difficult for me even now to make the first overture to a stranger.  I smile at everyone, but verbal interaction is a conscious struggle. 

I knew a ten year old girl who had no qualms about approaching a stranger to ask directions or a question.  I spent my youth head down, hiding behind my long hair, convinced that if I didn't look up, no one would notice me. 

Neighborhood kids come to my door to sell their school products.  Some are eloquent, personable, consummate sales people.  Others mumble, hide behind their parents, or silently thrust their sale booklets at me.


I know I am smart, funny, likable.  But I am envious of those who face the world eyes up, hand shake ready. 

Confident.

Book reading, and time spent.

Against a friend's advice, I counted how many books I read this year.  Jamie said counting them would make me compete with myself.  Well, I got curious, so I went through my journals for the past 2 years.  I was surprised and pleased to see that I had read 78 books this year. 

Then I counted last year's reading list.  89.  Considering this is the last day of the year, there is no way I can match last year's count.

So the excuses ensue. 

Last year I read 35 Trixie Belden books.  They are quick reads so they shouldn't count the same as one Jim Bishop Dresden Files book. 

I reread some favorite books last year.  Rereading is quicker than a first read.  (By the way, I have no idea whether this is true.)

Counting books doesn't account for the magazines I read this year, like the Smithsonian.  Of course, I don't enumerate magazines, so I have no idea how many magazines I read.  And, honestly, didn't I read magazines last year too?

So whatever my reasons, my book count this year is less than last year's.  Regardless, I have read a lot of books the past two years.  

And that answers a question that had been bothering me.  Why don't I accomplish more? 

I started a stained glass piece early this year that I still haven't finished.  Now, part of that is that I was making it to sell.  Since I have had so little luck selling the pieces I have already finished, the incentive to finish this one has diminished.  On the other hand, I have other pieces I want to make and can't start them until I finish this one and get it out of the way.

I have the beginnings of an idea for a novel.  I've even written a couple chapters.  But I can't seem to find the time to work on it.  Now I know part of the reason why.  I'm too busy enjoying the fruits of someone else's labors to labor myself.  I haven't been willing to devote the necessary time to finishing my own story.

I think another part of this obstruction is that both glass and writing take a lot of time.  Creating a glass piece is also a little painful.  I usually end up with a stiff neck from leaning over the glass and cuts on one or more fingers after a session with the glass.  But I do love seeing the sun shining through the finished piece.

If I can sell neither glass art nor books, is it worth the effort it takes to create them?  This is the quandary that has me taking refuge in the written works of others. 

I love to read.  I always have.  I always will.  But I think my resolution for 2011 is to spend less time reading and more time creating. 

How often and what to blog?

I find myself thinking about things I could have, should have blogged when I am driving home from work, far from a computer.  And generally the things I think about are in the past.  Why can't I think about blogging when the news is current?  I know no one but me will know that a conversation or happening didn't actually occur today.  But it seems like cheating to write about the past.  Or maybe I need to rethink what a blog means to me.

Tis a puzzlement.  (Is that how Yul Brynner said it in The King and I?)

So here are a few things that happened within the last two weeks:

Angel caught kennel cough.  The wheezing frightened her and I would pet her and make soothing noises.  So it was gratifying when she started wheezing and came running to me for comfort.  

All year I told myself if I got an annual bonus I would give half to a local charity.  (Wild Horse Ranch Rescue).  Giving them money brought me more pleasure than anything I could have bought for myself. 

With the half bonus I had left, I paid off my new washer.  Out of the rest I was going to buy a Kindle.  But when I looked at one, I realized I really like books.  I am not ready to give up paper.  So I gave that money to my vet for their fund for needy animals.  And that felt really good too.

The same day, I read The Bloggess column where she offered $30 gift cards to the first 20 people that really needed it.  When she ran out of gift cards, other readers offered to help.  Over $40,000 was shared with people in need.  I cried reading the comments. 

I am in a very good place right now, very happy, healthy, able to pay my bills, grateful to be able to share some of what I have. 

Have a happy New Year.  I hope 2011 brings you joy.

Pros and cons of my work world

Today I sat down and did the pluses and minuses of working for my company.  Don’t get me wrong.  I wasn’t deciding whether to leave or not.  I like the work I do and I like the people I work with.  

I was trying to justify why I stay.   I wanted to make sure I wasn't staying because I am too lazy, or too afraid, to leave.  Are there true reasons to stay? 

It bothers me that the company seems to aspire to be like every other company in their market space, even in areas where they are actually better.  We are told that our benefits, or workspace, or whatever, are industry average.   On the other hand, the company talks about aspiring to be an industry leader.  Upper management hasn’t seemed to figure out that you cannot lead and follow at the same time.   

The lack of logic is disturbing. 

And they somehow think that rewarding everyone equally is logical.  It is unsettling, and demotivating, to give everyone the same raise regardless of whether they worked their behinds off, phoned it in, or barely escaped termination.  How does that inspire an employee to put in the extra effort the next year?

So I compiled my list of good and bad.  It was enlightening. 

I realized that what I like about the company has been determined at the local level, before the big corporate takeover.  There is the flexible work schedule that lets me come in at 6:30 and leave at 3.  There is the ability to work from home one day a week (which I don’t take advantage of, but is still nice to have).  There is the casual dress code that allows me to wear jeans and sneakers to work every day.  The understanding of my desire to have a cubicle by a window and to do the type of work I enjoy and am good at.  The hiring of people who work well together and are not prima donnas.  Compassion for people who have families and situations that sometimes require attention during a work day. 

The only good thing on my list that comes from the corporate level is the plentiful vacation time.  And Corporate is planning on mucking that up in the next year or so. 

So now I know what keeps me here.  And I am comfortable with those reasons.

Scottsdale Iron Pour 2010

I have a friend who takes an iron sculpture class at a Scottsdale Community College.  Twice a year there is an iron pour where the artists melt enough iron to fill hundreds of molds. In the spring it is done at a college with no room for observers.  But in November, visitors are welcomed and encouraged.

Last year, my first to observe, was held in the morning and I was quite impressed.  It takes a lot of careful coordination because the iron is kept continuously flowing and is heated to 2500 degrees. 

This year they held the event at sundown and I remembered to bring a camera. As impressive as it is in the daylight, it is twice as cool at dark when the iron is glowing red and the steam is rising off the poured molds.

This is maybe one-sixth of the molds laid out

One of the small plaque molds is mine.

The molds are laid out on a pile of sand.  This enables the molds to be leveled and catches any drips of molten iron.












The smaller open face molds to the right are the ones they sell at the iron pour for people to play with.


 
 

Last minutes instructions before the pour.

As you can see, everyone is wearing welders leathers and helmets with face shields.  This is too dangerous to take chances with.

Blazing hot cupola

The cupola is loaded from the top with iron and coke.  The molten iron pours out the bottom.  Slag exits from the side (hidden in this picture) 

Sparks everywhere

Waiting to lift

 One of the reasons for the protective gear. 

It takes two people to handle the ladle.  Here they are waiting for the last bit of iron to fill the ladle before they take it.  The fiberglass blanket keeps the iron hot  and prevents splashing.   

The first thing done with a fresh ladle is scrape off the slag, which rises to the top of the ladle.

Pouring the open face molds.

Glowing iron

Pouring the molds requires a lot of manpower.  The 2 ladle handlers can't see into the mold from their posts.  So there is a spotter that tells them when the mold is full.

Besides the spotter, there are one or two shovelers  that cover any overflow with sand and watch for fires.

Pouring a mold

Closer view

The amount of iron required depends on the size of the mold.  And the temperature of the iron varies within the ladle with the hottest at the bottom.









The detail of the mold determines whether it is poured first or last from the ladle.  The differing sizes of iron requires someone to calculate which molds can be poured from the current ladle.

Pouring ceramic shells

Some of the more delicate pieces are created using ceramic shells.  A wax design is created and the ceramic poured over it to create the shell.  These are preheated before iron is poured into them so the ceramic doesn't shatter.

Smoking and burning after being poured.

This is part of the reason for the sand base.  You can see the iron burning outside the molds where is over flowed.

The largest of the night.

This mold required 250 lbs of iron.  That took two ladles poured simultaneously.  One ladle was filled, then set aside with its fiberglass cover while the second was being filled.  Then the 2 ladles were poured at the same time.







I enjoyed the pour immensely and highly recommend it.  .