*sigh* I feel like playing game of cribbage.

Cold weather is here. The two days of below zero temperatures completely froze the water supply for the cows which were at the Plaza Hill. So today, we hauled them to a pasture which did not get grazed this summer. Here a picture taken shortly after noon of the fresh pasture, looking toward Mt Blanca.

"It is only the wisest and the stupidest that will not change."

       — Confucius (551-479 BC) —

The survivors in Australia did not know the history of the Last War. The War happened so quickly, and recently, that no history was yet written. The people had some information, but there were many gaps. How many bombs were dropped? How many of those were hydrogen bombs? What caused Russia to drop a bomb on China? Who bombed Washington and London? Then there was the bomb on Tel Aviv... To the Australians, the War-without-written-history seemed like a mistake that should have been stopped. Now these survivors were dealing with fall-out -- atomic fall-out -- from the Last War.

On the Beach, written by Nevil Shute in 1957, is a timeless story about people, and how people choose to live their lives when they believe that the end is minutes, hours, days, or weeks away.

I first read this book in the late 1960's. This was during the Cold War, and I was a teenager. Perhaps these two factors combined to cause the book to make a deep impression on me. I recently remembered the book, and was inspired to read it again. Forty years later, I am, again, deeply impressed by the book. Although the technology described in the book seems quaint and old-fashioned, the behavior of the people is like reading current events. The sociological aspects of the book span the years and are still applicable to today.

Find this book at a used bookstore and enjoy "The most important and dramatic novel of the atomic age."

Sometimes I suspect I waste time.  I spent time this past week and weekend encouraging people to contacting Senators and Representatives concerning the health care legislation facing Congress this week. I encouraged anyone who would listen, even strangers. I did the encouraging by urging people to understand the legislation and how it affects them.

Following my own advice, I calculated the legislation's affect on me. I currently pay $5,616 annually for a $5,000 deductible health insurance policy. I pay the total cost, as I am my own employer. The current legislation will provide a $4,380 subsidy to me. That sounds good. I CAN use those dollars! If I conclude my analysis with that, I certainly can support the legislation!

Maybe others have done the same as me, and have calculated the personal benefits, and feel that the legislation will be beneficial in the short-term. Why get fussed over the future? Really, is there a need to contact Senators and Representatives when one calculates a personal, current benefit?

Perhaps I have wasted time and energy talking to others about this issue. Perhaps I have wasted my time composing letters.

But wait, I just gained an hour of time on Saturday night, with the time change! That makes up for that possibly wasted time