Early February Updates

Not much to report. We've had some nice rain but not enough to bust the drought. Spicewood Springs, TX which is not far from Austin was in the national news this past week because they ran out of water in their wells. Lots of boat ramps sitting on the ground that used to float on 40feet of water. So sad. The cedar pollen is letting up some so hopefully it won't be long before it is all gone. We have light rain this morning and cool. It got up to 84 a few days ago. Not much of a winter around here this year.
The city finally had enough of the Occupy Austin sleeping on the outside stairs of City Hall so they rousted them. Arrested 7 or 8 of them and now they are regrouping. I think the movement has ran out of steam.
Still enjoy watching the birds outside our window. Hate the Morning Doves because they are piggies and eat until all the seeds are gone. I chase them off when I see them. The Doves try to intimidate the other birds too but have more than a match in the woodpeckers who are not afraid of them or any of the other birds that come to feed.


female woodpecker-has half of a red cap



hail fell for first time in many months



pea size-no damage done

Blustery Day

Wonderful walk this morning. Around 35 and windy, almost feels like winter. Not many people out on the Hike and Bike Trail though, just a few runners and a couple of people walking their dogs.We had three days of light rain and even an early morning thunderstorm and it was all great. Wish we had more.
Did walk over to the Occupy Austin site but there are few hardy souls out there right now. One young man I talked to said they are planning in Occupy Foreclosure type protest which is to occupy empty homes that were foreclosed on. I don't know how that will go over with those who own these properties but I guess we will see if this protest takes place.
Here are a few more photos taken over Thanksgiving week.

Frankie, Pam, Lauren

Waiting on news of sisters foot surgery

Cyndi's foot a week after surgery

Evie and Frankie

Awwww

Just Posting Stuff

Now this is a beautiful morning!

We actually got a bit of rain on Thursday and it was cool for a couple of mornings which made for nice walking. The heat is back though and that stupid sun is shining brightly burning and fading everything it touches.
Started this post a few days ago waiting for something interesting to happen but no such luck.
Clouds, sunshine, warmer temperatures. Longhorns losing. Same, same.
They arrested 5 people down at the Occupy Austin site for chaining themselves to a tree because they didn't want to move so the place could be power washed. It was orderly though and no one was pepper sprayed or hurt.
My carotid test results were worrisome but could have been worse so it's something I can hopefully manage. I think that for most of my life I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop but it never does. This can be a good thing or not depending on how you view life. I just bumble through it glad to be alive.

Time Change

While I don't mind the fall back an hour time change I do wish that we could have the same time all year long. This jumping back and forth an hour messes with your body clock and I just don't think it's a good thing. Plus running around changing the time on the clocks that don't automatically update themselves is a big pain in the drain.
Our weather warmed up again but some clouds rolled in and we did get a bit of rain over the weekend. The weatherman said a cold front was on the way and should get here tonight and bring some thunder storms and more rain. We hope he's right.
Nothing exciting on my walk today. They are cleaning up the area around Auditorium Shores that was host to the Fun, Fun, Fun Fest this weekend. Lots of tents and fences to take down but not a whole lot of trash which is a good thing.
I didn't go to the Occupy Austin site this morning but I did read in the paper that they had a successful march to the downtown banks on Nov. 5.  Across the country thousands of people closed their bank accounts and joined smaller local banks and credit unions. Maybe the banks will notice and maybe they won't but I do think that the movement is on the right track by using this tactic. If the movement affects their bottom line they will take notice and make changes.
On a completely different note I've got to say here that I've been enjoying 'Once Upon a Time' and 'Grimm'. Fairy tales have always been a favorite of mine and it's nice to see them being re-imagined.

Cool Morning Walk



Some will have a job...painting over this.

Had a nice walk this morning thanks to the cool front that blew through here late last night. I must admit that yesterday I was skeptical about it getting cooler when I sat watching the evening news while sweating and eating a Popsicle. But the front came through and made things much nicer. Could have used some rain but alas no rain fell in our area.

The photos I'm posting were taken on Tuesday and one of them has a word in it that has been edited, by me, for obvious reasons. I don't like graffiti but it is around so I captured a few bits of it.

Not a Perry fan I'm guessing. (edited by me)

The GOP campaign seems to have gone down a road that is not a good one. I prefer to judge candidates on their policies not their private lives but I guess you can't get away from it these days. Hopefully things will not get any uglier and everyone can get back to talking about the important issues that affect us all and the solutions to them so everyone can make an informed decision in the voting booth come Nov. 2012.
And will the media please not devote so much time to the Lohan and Kardashian woes. I'm tired of hearing about them and just want them to go away.

Upside down Ron Paul sticker

Occupy Austin Updates

My visit to Occupy Austin on Nov. 1, 2011. I decided this morning to walk to the Occupy Austin site and take some photos and do some interviews if possible. The site was quiet and by my estimation there were more police officers than demonstrators. The vibe I got was one of peace and the area was clean and tidy. I observed a gentleman walking around with a broom and bucket sweeping up any bits of litter he could find. Some people were asleep and some had left to go to their jobs or take care of family business, classes, and other appointments. I talked with Burt who is a veteran about his reasons for joining the Occupy movement as well as two other gentlemen who were holding signs by the street corner. The following are some of my thoughts on what I heard.

Burt-Vet. and Occupy Austin participant

Burt joined the movement to protest the treatment of veterans and the possible reduction of benefits and medical treatment of long time vets and those returning from the middle east.
One young man joined in the protest because he believed that greed and government were taking away the opportunity of American citizens to get an affordable education. He had been attending college but had to drop out because of the lack of funding. He thinks that a free education for those serious about attending college to 'better' the world would help out the country and less emphasis should be placed on those seeking education and jobs that deal with just making money. He cited lawyers specifically but I didn't quite understand why.


Two Austin Occupy Demonstrators

The other man I talked to (the one with the signs and the ball cap) was the only one who showed real passion and some anger. He wanted an end to lobbyist controlling the outcome of legislation that was detrimental to the common man by buying the votes of unscrupulous politicians and said those people should be voted out. He also had some heat for the banks that took the bail out money but did not change the way they did business and continued to foreclose on homes and refused to lend money to small businesses. He encouraged everyone to come out and join their march to the nearest Wells Fargo Bank on November 5th.While I do believe that for the most part the people of the Occupy movement are sincere I think that a lot of them are searching for a more cohesive cause to rally behind or perhaps someone to lead them. This movement is not the angry violent anti-war movement of the 60's but it does have an air of frustration with the way things are in the world. Most of the rhetoric is directed at the wealthy and big corporations. For now the leaders are happy that banks have backed off of debit card fees but they only see it as a small victory. Where will it all end? I haven't a clue but it will be interesting to go along for the ride and see.

Cooler but no rain

Here we are near the end of October and while it's been cooler for a few days no more significant rain has come.  The drought is still ongoing.
At the Occupy Austin site there have been arrests made. By Patrick George and Andrea Ball | Sunday, October 30, 2011, 01:40 AM
Update, 5:17 a.m.
Additional arrests were made shortly after 2 a.m., bringing the total number to 38. Police Chief Art Acevedo, who arrived at City Hall around 4 a.m. to talk to remaining occupiers, said that most were charged with criminal trespass and would likely be released soon.
“No one got hurt and that’s what’s important,” he said.

---

Police officials confirmed that about 20 members of the ongoing Occupy Austin demonstration were arrested outside City Hall earlier this morning and charged with criminal trespass.
Demonstrators who were present during the arrests say that around 12:30 a.m., officers attempted to shut down a table that was used to distribute food. When the demonstrators refused, they were taken into custody. The names of those arrested were not immediately available early Sunday morning.
Officers originally warned the demonstrators around 9:45 p.m. that a city ordinance prevented food from being distributed at City Hall after 10 p.m., said Brian Overman, who witnessed the arrests. He said officers also removed other parts of the camp, including blankets and sleeping bags.
Another demonstrator, Zachary Hill, said that demonstrators locked arms and sat on food to prevent officers from taking it away.
“The only resistance on this side was passive,” Hill said.
While I understand some of the frustration that has led to these demonstrations I really don't know what the end game is. At what point will those demonstrating say we've done what we came to do and got the results we wanted. Corporate greed is not going away and neither are the rich who like the poor are always with us. Most of us are stuck somewhere in the middle and plod along making ends meet and just living our lives the best we can. I'm feeling very apathetic these days because I no longer believe in change of any kind. People are who they are and things are what they are. The winners so far out of this Occupy deal are the area credit unions. People are closing bank accounts and moving to credit unions in good numbers and I guess now we'll see if the CU change the way they operate with all this influx of cash.
On a lighter note the picture below was taken from our bedroom window. The little blue jay comes often and hangs out on the window sill. Sometimes he's very noisy but he's always very cute. We get other birds too but they don't pose for photos like he does.

The Longhorns won a game making them 5-2 (I think) for the season which means they don't suck as bad as they did last year when they won...hum...if my memory serves, just three games.

Occupy movement still moving in Austin

It's a sunny and cool Saturday morning in Austin and there will be lots of people on the city streets. The Occupy Austin group, see live here, and the LiveStrong 5K are both downtown today. The Longhorns are playing the OK State Cowboys which brings in lots of people to add to the chaos. Tomorrow the Austin Walk for Aids group will be on the streets. So far everything has been orderly and peaceful which speaks well for the folks around here.
It was  50 degrees when I woke up this morning. Very nice but we still could use some more rain and rain would have made it a perfect weather day.

Updates done on a muggy Saturday afternoon.

We got some rain showers this morning. Downpours for 30 to 40 seconds but 3 or 4 of them so far. All of it is most welcome.
The Occupy Austin is still going. They did march as a group to the nearest Bank of America and those who had accounts there proceeded (in an orderly fashion) to cancel them.  The group here is organized with child care for those who want to participate in the protest but not have their children there and other groups supply water and food for the demonstrators. You can check out the videos and article here.
Sadly the Longhorns got slaughtered. I could not stand to watch it so I tried to download the second book in the Game of Thrones series.  Alas Barnes and Noble only has the first four book set for the Nook App so that means I'd have two editions of the first novel which would be lame. I didn't know you could run out of an ebook edition! Amazon has it so I might get it there but I have a gift card at B&N and really wanted to use it. Sometimes the tiny things in life can be very complicated. :0\

Occupy Austin

We got a bit of rain this morning and hoping for more over the weekend. The temperatures are still high (it's 93 at the moment) but no triple digits for now.
On my morning walk I ambled over to City Hall and talked to a couple of Occupy Austin demonstrators and took some photos. Most of them are young and either college students, blue collar workers, musicians, and artists.

There was not a big crowd this morning but it was over a thousand last night and as the day wears on and people get off work and out of classes they expect more. The two young men I talked to said they were hoping to make the people pay attention to the devastating effects of corporate greed. Greed in and of itself is not the problem it's when it's pervasive and gone wrong. They specifically talked about   the Bernie Madoff debacle, the Bank of America recent announcement of the $5.00 debit card fee. I gathered from their statements that these companies making  obcenely large profits on the backs of the middle classes is the reason the economy is in the tank. They believe that the workers who make the companies grow are being lied to and cheated. The two young men (pictured) seemed sincere enough and one was a college student and one worked downtown. I didn't ask them for any personal information but I did ask them for permission to post their photo on my blog. They were happy for me to help them spread the word. I really don't see any clear cut cause (in the 50s we had Ban the Bomb, the 60s we had the anti-war dissidents) but I'm hoping that the organizers get their act together and establish a real strategy to make their case more cohesive and clear. They have the growing man-power and I hope they use it in a positive and productive way.
On my way back across the river I saw a large number of police gathering in the park. I think at the time I was there the police outnumbered the protesters. I just saw on the news that the number of protesters has grown but the tone of the demonstrators is still peaceful.

Our daughter texted the picture below. It appeared on our grandsons doorway. We have no idea what it means. Perhaps someone looking at the blog might have some idea as to what it could mean.