Exciting stuff I know, but these are the states I have visited (in red):
You can see how I made my way across the country.

create your own visited states map
or write about it on the open travel guide

From Unknown Country, "One year very soon—maybe this year—spring simply won't arrive in some parts of the world."

I went back to Bellevue Community College to scout more information on making a career change. I should have known that the career counselor would try to steer me to something in political science. She printed out a list of occupations that are related to a political science degree, and then did the same for my economics minor. I still draw a blank. I...don't...know.... She told me that the health fields of radiation tech and radiation therapy are very competitive. I found out how so during my third meeting of the day at a radiation therapy informational meeting. The second meeting pertained to financial help with worker retraining at the college. It is all depressing. I got no groove.

Here is Dave Winer on the Dean scream.

Margaret Cho has the patience of a saint.

Mom passed away two years ago today. Also today PBS showed the Alzheimer's show The Forgetting. Here is the entry for that day. I took a look at it yesterday and read the links again. I think that they could use a second posting and reading. Wish me success this week in getting my new direction in order. I'm not sure how I'm going to put all of it together, obviously. I'll run tomorrow and try out my knee. Getting out like that is always helpful. Please read these:

Here are some quotes for today. Take care. one,two,three,four,five.

David S. Broder writes, "This fundamental disagreement about national priorities — really, about the nature of the world, the state of the nation and the priorities of government — is what makes the stakes in the coming election much larger than usual."

Here I am during part of my Captain Kangaroo watching days.

Here is a site explaining leap of faith. Scroll down to Kierkegaard. So, Soren Kierkegaard is the father of modern thought, but what gets me is that the vast majority of people don't know that there are different ways to think in the first place. They just take what is seemingly evident and apparent and repackage it in the same package. This both bothers me and gives me hope. Ideas can change the world. This isn't all there is.

The star of my chilhood morning TV passed away today in Montpelier, VT. It sort of sounds silly but it was Captain Kangaroo who taught me my left from my right. He did this one episode by turning his back to us viewers and he showed us and talked us through what was his left side and what was his right side by having us do the same. I remember standing there in front of the TV sorting it out with him. Thank you Bob Keeshan for entertaining us post baby boom viewers with your interactions with Mr. Greenjeans, Mr Moose and his ping pong balls and the rest of the cast.

In other "news" I went to Bellevue Community College to scout their program information. I'm taking my leap of faith in this move. But really, what other options do I have? Landscape? That was my summer job for last year. I want a real one.

I'm not sure how many readers are out there, but if you are reading this today, Wednesday the 21st, then I ask you to watch the PBS documentary on Alzheimer's, The Forgetting. It is on tonight. I think that last link will work. Y'all have a great day.

From the Springfield Republican, " 'We don't really care about the perception of our team,' New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. 'We just play good football.' " And here is a Ron Chimelis article.

I've been contemplating the adage "do that which you fear", or something like that. Well that would be going back to school, full time, at my age while also trying to support myself and pay for school. Mark Twain said, "Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain." I'm not sure what I fear most but the school scenario certainly makes me pause.... I don't have an oracle right now but maybe that is the plan. I don't even let myself in on that. Career counseling goes so far and then I'll need something akin to a vision quest. No more being lazy.

How do like this for a quote?: "'We feel pretty strongly that there needs to be a separation between the pornography and the fire service,'" They are back on the job now.

Sonya has S.A.D., and after the past few days I can understand why. Tracy told me that here during the winter daytime in the land of rain, night-lights don't go out. It was very dark today. I went to an introductory orientation workshop at Worksource in Redmond. It was good to get out of the apartment even if the sun was very, very hidden. So what should I do for work? I need to go back to school in order to make any money and also to get away from lower paying grunt work. I've trudged with enough buckets of wet leaves on my shoulder, if even symbolically (*figuratively?). Should it be in teaching or something in healthcare? I'm not sure about both of these but I have to start thinking somewhere. Tomorrow is supposed to be drier so maybe I'll go for a hike. As Uncle Ed would say, "happy crap day".

Read about the giant beaver of Lake Hitchcock.

Good news in Mattampash land. The name Mattampash actually refers to a small island in the Connecticut River at the mouth of the Sawmill River, as called by the Pocumtuck Indians. As I have read, the whole area on at least the Montague side of the Connecticut River along the Sawmill was called Mattampash also. I grew up there, thus the name of this blog. A neighbor, "Beaver," who owned land down the road from us passed away a little while ago. His wife then sold the land. We were worried that the land would be developed, especially after seeing what has happened here, not that we'd have a big-ass interchange in town but you get the idea. Here is a picture I put together. The land in question is to the rear of the picture (behind you) and to the right of the road. A childhood friend of my brother's bought it to keep it clear, as I am told. Thank you Mark.

Here are some "[s]ome cold, hard facts about Northwest living," namely what happens to this area and its inhabitants when it snows here.

Report: Iraq didn't pose immediate threat to U.S. This is an extensive report by a non partisan research institution. I don't think this was any big surprise. GW and his neo-con friends were going to do this one way or another.

Here is my horoscope from my MSN page:

"Sagittarius-Today marks the beginning of a new cycle for you, dear Sagittarius. Collect and consolidate your recent ideas and focus them outwardly. The time is right for you to take action. Improve your immediate surroundings and adjust your bed so that it is facing east west. (A north-south placement will cause you to lose energy at night since it would align you with the Earth's magnetic field). Drink plenty of water to help keep your mind clear."

Good thing my bed already faces that way. How important really is this? So today is the beginning of a new cycle. My recent ideas are to revamp my income source, especially since I've been laid off. But more importantly, instead of getting by with what I have done for work these years I would actually like to do meaningful work which will support me. You'd think that I would have figured this out while I was in college, but I didn't. Perhaps sometime I will understand why I did those things and lived in those places for those years. I never played baseball but what I think I am doing now is looking for that solid hit of the ball to the bat which the hitter recognizes as perfect in that very instant. It is the same with golf. Before the ball has hit it's zenith the golfer knows he hit the sweet spot. It is in the approach, the hit and the follow-through. A moment of perfection.

The Seattle Times carries this horoscope for me today: "SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Ah, yes, things feel lighter today. Watch out for a tendency to be intellectually overbearing. Children don't want to be preached to. Wait to employ your abundant charisma." Now where is the new start sort of stuff? Nothing about my bed? I hope y'all have a great day!

"Quarantining dissent / How the Secret Service protects Bush from free speech"

"The S factor explains Bush's popularity"

Well I don't have any interesting snow stories like these two do, but I took a few pictures at Marymoor today. This is a composite. What a mess it was here in the Puget Sound region. From what I can tell, the people here either don't know to slow down or they drive too slowly.

Wired News: Bush Grabs New Power for FBI: "But Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota), who opposed the legislation, told the House, 'It is clear the Republican leadership and the administration would rather expand on the USA Patriot Act through deception and secrecy than debate such provisions in an open forum.'"

I drove out to Fall City to pay my rental space for the trailer this morning. The apartment complex lot was slick but the roads were clear. While I was out there I put some fuel stabilizer in the bike's gas tank and ran it until I thought that it was throughout the carburator and lines. Really exciting stuff I know but it was something I needed to get done and doing that right now is a big plus for me. With the weather lately I don't think that I'll be on the bike anytime soon. This is normal back in the northeast but here it as well could be above 50 degrees and I could be riding right now. I also used pliers to bend the run I put in the chain link fence back into less noticable shape. Does that make sense? A few weeks ago I caught the trailer on the fence and pulled one strand of wire out of the chain link formation. It is less out of formation now, meaning it is less noticable. The bike is better out in Fall City out of sight because I can't ride and out of the elements because I don't have a cover.

"Interesting things we have learned from Republicans lately"