Icewind's Ramblings

Happy New Year everyone! 2010 is here so out with the old and somewhat bad times during the last ten years and in with the new decade!  I want to wish all of my blog readers a very Happy New Year.  I hope that 2010 is a great year for everybody!! One dilemma I have been having as this day approached is how to say it or talk about the year.  Writing it seemed easy but in conversation it brings up somewhat of a debate between us. I remember when the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" came out, the title rolled off the tongue so easily.  TWO THOUSAND and ONE.  It sounded right and it never occurred to me that perhaps that naming was not consistent with other year naming practices, if not downright incorrect. So, as the millennium approached, and we all began to get caught up in the excitement . . . or dread . . . of not only the year changing, but also the decade, and also the century, we all named the year TWO THOUSAND. When the next year rolled around, I was saying TWO T

Or The Long and Winding Road . Recently I started working for a nonprofit group.  I think everyone has some preconceived notions about what it might be or what they might be struggling to accomplish. Mine is a Native Corporation whose mission is to provide the highest quality health services in partnership with our people and the Alaska Tribal Health System. We build health clinics, water & sewer treatment plants among other things to the different areas of Alaska .  Another very rewarding thing we do is build the infrastructure to bring running water and sewer into rural homes.  This is one of the neat parts of what we build seeing families who have never had indoor plumbing be able to have hot water and running water in their houses.  Many of us forget that there are still places in this country that do not have the everyday conveniences many of us take for granted. As the year closes I am thankful to end this past decade with several positive notes.  Quickly finding

A wonderful Blue Moon on the rise. When I left for work this morning in the predawn hours before first light there was a waxing almost full moon smiling at me, a midst the two December moons.  Once in a Blue Moon . . . is a common way of saying not very often, but what exactly is a Blue Moon? According to the popular definition, it is the second Full Moon to occur in a single calendar month. It is a lunar event that happens ‘once in a blue moon’. This phenomenon has nothing to do with color, everything to do with time. The average interval between Full Moons is about 29.5 days, whilst the length of an average month is roughly 30.5 days.  This makes it very unlikely that any given month will contain two Full Moons, though it does sometimes happen. On average, there will be 41 months that have two Full Moons in every century, so you could say that once in a Blue Moon actually means once every two-and-a-half years. While a blue moon consistently gives poets fodder and

I didn’t really feel like writing tonight as I have been watching the first season of “Lost” on HULU.  I wanted to post something so I thought I would write a quick post on one of the things I know I’m guilty of doing in my posts. This is one of those little pet peeves that drive “some people” crazy. What I’m talking about is a “Blog post” of “unnecessary” quotation marks. As you wander around your town or surfing the internet look for them and post them occasionally. Here is a couple examples of what I’m talking about: And one of my favorite useless signs . . . and exactly where is the security the sign is calling out.  Look closely . . . he’s “sleeping”. Now back to the season one finale of Lost , it’s been pretty interesting. Ice

Or where have you gone on your travels around the United States ?  A friend sent this to me several months ago and I have not had time to post this. Put an X by the states you have been to.  I’m told the average is 8; how do you match up? Should you chose to play, here's what you do: Copy my post. Paste the copy in the body of the note.  Delete my Xs and add your own. Just for fun, put an O beside the states where you have lived. Airports don't count as you must have traveled to the area! Alabama - XO Alaska - XO Arizona - X Arkansas - X California - X Colorado - XO Connecticut - X Delaware - X Florida - X Georgia - XO Hawaii - X Idaho - X Illinois - X Indiana - X Iowa - X Kansas - X Kentucky - XO Louisiana - XO Maine - Maryland - X Massachusetts - X Michigan - X Minnesota - X Mississippi - X Missouri - X Montana - X Nebraska - X Nevada - X New Hampshire - New Jersey - X New Mexico - X New York - X North Carolina - X North Dak