HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

1:28 pm CST
A Real Winter


It snowed overnight! I couldn't believe it when I peeked out the window this morning and saw the scene above. It is the answer to my prayers. As I write this, I am drinking a cup of hot chocolate and admiring the Winter Wonderland outside.

Not really. The above photo was sent to me by Ray, a reader in central Minnesota; he took it in his front yard the day before yesterday and sent it to me after reading yesterday's post about the lack of winter weather here in Central Texas, in hopes it would make me feel better. Thanks, Ray; at least I can vicariously enjoy a real winter.

I checked the 15-day Accuweather forecast earlier and it appears we will not experience cooler temperatures or rain till the 15th, if we're lucky. That does not bode well for the rest of the winter.

I don't know when I'll get to wear the nice winter shirt my wife gave me for Christmas. Maybe never.

My wife's sister and brother-in-law sent me a vintage Hawaiian shirt from their new home in Hawaii. I was planning to wear it this spring on our annual trip to the coast, but I might as well start wearing it now.

Again, thanks to Ray. I will use the photo as my desktop and pretend I am looking out the window; maybe I will also turn up the air conditioner to induce a few shivers ...

1:28 pm CST
"Winter" in Central Texas

It's been a warm, sunny holiday season here in Central Texas, much to my displeasure. I like winter to feel like winter; we have enough harsh glaring sunlight and hellacious heat for most of the year--more than enough to satisfy those people who like that sort of thing--but very few days out of the year to give some relief to people like me, who enjoy bitter, biting cold, dark gloomy skies, and howling winter winds laden with ice and snow.

I grew up in North Texas, where most years there was something resembling winter, then in 1977 moved here to Central Texas, where a real winter is rare. At first this seemed like a good thing; it was a novelty to wear short sleeves on a January day, and to have more days in the year to engage in outdoor activities. But, over time, I found that I missed the variety that a genuine change in the seasons provides. If a winter passes without at least a few cloudy days or one overnight freeze (so little to ask!), I felt cheated and resent the first, too-early sight of green on the trees. On the other hand, if we get a real winter, I rejoice; others might complain that they can't go jogging on the icy trails, or they miss the sunshine, or whatever--not me. I am happy stay indoors by the fireside, enjoying a good book and a hot beverage, and I love to look outside through frosty windows at barren trees bending in a full-on blast of arctic air. Yes, I love it. I would not love it all the time; otherwise, I would move to the Arctic Circle. All I ask is that winter feel like winter, and when it's over we can have summer in its proper time, and can better appreciate it.

Anyway, here it is early winter in Central Texas, and it is warm and sunny--not only here, but in North Texas as well. And people keep saying this is a good thing, that it is wonderful to walk barefoot in the park on Christmas Day, or swim, or get a suntan, or engage in similar activities inappropriate to the season. Well, it's not a good thing, and to make matters worse it is also dry and windy. As a result, there have been numerous brush fires over the past week; one spark from a barbecue pit, or tossed cigarette, or firecracker, is all it takes to create a god-awful conflagration capable of consuming an entire subdivision. So, you see, it's not just for the sake of variety, or aesthetics, that we need some cold, wet weather; we need it for survival.

Fireworks have been banned this year in Central Texas. I hope that makes the warm weather-lovers happy. Of course, I've no doubt that plenty of people will go ahead and shoot fireworks tonight anyway, despite the ban. So, here's hoping we survive this New Year's Eve.

And here's hoping that the past few weeks of warm weather will not last through the winter, that there are glorious, bone-chilling days ahead, and sub-zero nights not fit for man nor beast, and howling winds, and the magic of snow in the morning ...

1:48 pm CST
"Homeland Security ate my homework ..."

Last week it was widely reported, and talked about, that a college student's request for Chairman Mao's Little Red Book resulted in a visit from two Homeland Security agents. Now it has been revealed that the student lied to his professor about the visit; it is not clear why, although I wonder if it might have been a variation on the old "dog ate my homework" excuse. At any rate, the lie was readily believed by a great many people, which says a lot about the times we live in; it is a fact that Homeland Security agents recently visited a toy story to demand removal of an "unauthorized" Rubik's Cube, therefore the idea of a "watch list" of books is not very far fetched ... LINK

10:30 am CST
M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S !!!


Step right this way to my Bison Bill website for a heart-warming Christmas story ...

3:38 pm CST
Christmas Classics



K. Gordon Murray's Santa Claus (more stills HERE and HERE)



Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

1:58 pm CST
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away ..."

A speech by Philip K. Dick: How to Build a Universe that Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later

(Via double flee a)

1:58 pm CST
Why The Patriot Act Is Intended To Fail

Alex Jones & Paul Joseph Watson: "From all the indications we have studied it seems that the Patriot Act is intentionally destined to fail so that when the Globalists carry out a terror attack they can blame 'civil liberties advocates' for preventing them from keeping the general public safe and then reject out of hand criticism of all future police state legislation that they pass ..." LINK

2:58 pm CST
Tomorrow (Friday) on Robert Larson's Out the Rabbit Hole

Tomorrow (Friday) at 5 pm CST (3 pm PST etc.) I'll be a guest on Robert Larson's show Out the Rabbit Hole which is carried on KUCI, the radio station of the University of California at Irvine. You can listen on line at the following links:

MP3 - 24k
MP3 - 128k

Real Audio - 24k
Real Audio - 128k