Tattoos have a long somewhat checkered past, and today we find them going mainstream. What do we make of all this?
December 11, 2008
We take the road less traveled, a picturesque serpentine path that wanders through verdant pastures. We see no cars in any direction but plenty of Charolais cows.
We're temporarily traveling in white space. Eventually, a sign for the D779 pops up to lead us back to terra cognita. The sun low on the horizon, we climb the long bumpy drive to the Château des Raynauds, a 12th century hospice converted to a post house in the 16th century and now a privately owned inn with four guest rooms. It's just outside the village of Teilhède, half an hour north of Clermont Ferrand.
Our hostess, Natalie Simon, serves us kirs on the patio.
At the dinner table, a retired couple from Metz in northeast France joins us. They're good company and well-traveled, having served with the French equivalent of the Peace Corps.
We dine on scallops and smoked salmon followed by pork tenderloin and garden-fresh green beans, an ample cheese plate and a raspberry tart. We also imbibe a very good, local wine from Boudes.
I notice the fireplaces are all made of hard volcanic tuffa. Madame Simon says the castle sits on a fault line and that dormant volcanoes surround this area of the Massif Central. Earlier in the day, our dining companions had visited Vulcania, an exhibit museum and theme park dedicated to volcanoes. Although these volcanoes have been quiet for 7000 years, they could wake at any moment. Mercifully, not tonight.
Ever been awakened by a volcanic eruption or earthquake?
still thinking about today...
Just last night I felt an earthquake followed by a volcanic eruption. Wait...no, that was something else.
Most trips to Tokyo involve experiencing an earthquake.... once I figured, sitting for my homeward flight from Narita, 'No earthquake'. A minute later: earthquake. I worry about my son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons. And I recently upset my son by telling him he should have a contingency plan (water, food, backpacks, wagons for the kids, etc) so he could walk out of Tokyo should it be hit by something like The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_Great_Kant%C5%8D_earthquake .
The Tabacon Resort, at the foot of the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica is a place to visit! As one sits in the hot waters (heated by the magma) one can contemplate the lowly lobster in a pot, and compare one's position to that of the crustacean. ('Now what if Arenal had an eruption right now and filled this entire area with superheated water?') It's a very beautiful area. The rumblings of the volcano above sound like distant thunder recorded and played backwards... starting with ever-louder muted echoes and rising slowly to a clear rumble.)
There are an immense number of images of 'Volcan Arenal' imbedded in Google Earth...type in 10°27'50.31"N, 84°42'5.17"W ....
I've felt earthquakes in Utah at California, but I've never experienced a major one and I'm grateful. Has anyone heard the Triangle of Life theory? I checked it out on Snopes and while they don't out and out discredit it, they do post information that paints the author in a poor light. If it is me I'm not going to wait for the ceiling to fall in, I'm out the nearest door or window to wide open spaces outside.
Doc Sir Boyscout and I have 72 hour emergency preparedness kits that we keep in the closet so we can just grab them and leave if we need to. They were easy to put together and easy to maintain. The weekends when daylight savings changes in the spring and fall is when we go through our kits and rotate anything that needs to come out. There are many lists of what should go in a kit, available online...just google "72 hour kit". We keep ours in our backcountry hiking backpacks so if we don't have access to a vehicle we can just pack everything out easily.
Being prepared is a simple step to give you and your loved ones some peace of mind. It is nothing to get upset over. Doc, you were just being a good dad. We have food and water storage in our home and we've used it. When money gets tight I can avoid spending money on groceries for about 2 straight months because of what I have stored in my house. When the power goes out (which is often) we have access to water, light, hand/foot warmers (also used when we hike or ski), hot food, and radio...and we don't have to ask anyone for help.
I sleep better at night if I can prepare myself and eliminate worry. I regularly update my CPR/First Aid/AED certifications, I make sure that our cars have jumper cables, flares, emergency blankets, USEFUL first aid kits, flashlights, etc. Knowing that I've done as much as I can helps me be calm and think clearly when there is an emergency. If you wait until an emergency to prepare yourself, you've waited too long.
Capt. Neptune,
This topic makes me think of your post yesterday. Lovely. The roundabout inlayed with conch shells that served as social venue for cows. Made me giggle.
As always, the food listed in this post has ruined me for my soup and bread. Though I do love soup and bread. Still.
Hmmm I think that if Mr. P insists on giving us a full run down on the menu in each post, the least he can do is fedex us lunch so we won't be reading it on an empty stomach ;)
Here, here.
I went for butter for my bread, and found not one single pat in the entire building. Unacceptable.
If I don't put on my requisite ten-pound-winter padding by the end of this week, I will perish in this weather.
How's a girl supposed to save Ford without padding, I ask you?
So, in summation, I am arguing that the secret to reviving the Big Three is butter. Apparently.
Missive, you can have mine, I dont' want it.