If you were to graph your life, at some point your expectations would intersect with your abilities: such a point should provide one with some degree of comfort; sort of like when the dog has taken your easy chair, and you’re all right with that.
Two line graphs on the same graph: first, expectations on the vertical axis, and time (or age) on the horizontal axis. Then another line: capabilities on the same vertical axis, over time, the same horizontal axis.
Over time, our capabilities probably don’t change much, while our expectations are slowly reduced, so that, at some point, these two lines intersect: a point where some sort of equilibrium is reached.
Today, it’s dealing with the Great Polar Vortex—an obvious symptom of climate change. After a struggle (looking for one of my hacksaws, going down to the Ranch tool shed to scrounge up a hot-water-line part), I successfully disconnected from the hot-water system the line to the laundry shed.
I’m hoping my current mechanical skills will prevent our water pipes from bursting this evening, when it gets down to zero. Gore was correct in saying “Global Warming” is a terrible misnomer, for the condition of more frequent weather extremes. At least older people will be happy to have significantly more weather to talk about.
An unrelated item: I’ve wondered for years about the nature of electricity and recently have identified one of its aspects: it is sticky, as if it exhibits qualities similar to surface tension. This is noticeable when you have a plug which barely plugs in far enough, or a light bulb which screws in just far enough, so the energy wants to either keep flowing, or stop flowing. Instead of acting like independent particles, it acts like a sticky, cohesive substance.
Meanwhile, twenty feet out the window on the wellhead bird feeder: three pairs of cardinals, many tit-mice, half a dozen doves, several red-breasted woodpeckers, jays, flocks of crows up in the trees, and yesterday afternoon a large, pair of pileated woodpeckers.