(from http://www.npr.org/2016/04/15/474102626/now-hiring-low-pay-terrible-benefits-and-an-unmatched-view-on-life)
". . . the job of bridgetender might not be the most attractive you've ever seen. For 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the person at the controls of the Ortega River Bridge in Jacksonville, Fla., must sit in a tiny booth, opening and closing the bridge so boats can pass. . . Sounds like an awful job, right? . . . Welcome to your office! Watch your head. This is the tenderhouse at the Ortega River Bridge in Jacksonville . . . "The pay's horrible, the benefits are worse," admits Barb Abelhauser, 51, a former bridgetender there, "but I have the most gorgeous view in the entire city. I mean, executives who make hundreds of thousands of dollars do not have my view. And I'm getting paid to stop and look." . . . "
My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
(thanks to http://www.npr.org/2014/09/22/350524753/canadian-surfers-ride-wave-for-hours-travel-18-miles)
People are surfing the chocolate river. The Petitcodiac River changes direction twice a day since the gates have been opened at a causeway that was built a number of years ago. The huge tides of the Bay of Fundy push water back upriver. As the tide rushes in, it forms a tidal bore; a small but powerful wave that rolls inland for miles. With the gates open, the wave has become much larger than it has been in about 40 years. As the bore pushes upstream through steep mud banks, it churns the river to a creamy froth. The waves are muddy and roll on and on and on. Very attractive to
serious surfers; the rolling, not necessarily the mud, but its not
enough to discourage them. The city of Moncton, New Brunswick is not encouraging visitors to come and ride the wave because of the dangers posed by water pollution, rocks, sucking mud, fast-moving debris and fierce currents.
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak
My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
(from http://www.priweb.org/ed/finger_lakes/nystate_geo3.html)
". . . The Finger Lakes consist of 11 long, narrow, roughly parallel lakes, oriented north-south as fingers of a pair of outstretched hands. The southern ends have high walls, cut by steep gorges. Two of the lakes (Seneca and Cayuga) are among the deepest in North America and have bottoms below sea level. These lakes all formed over the last two million years by glacial carving of old stream valleys. Ithaca is located at the south end of Cayuga Lake, the longest and the second deepest of the Finger Lakes. Cayuga is 38.1 miles long and 435 feet deep (53 feet below sea level) at its deepest spot. The actual depth of carved rock is well over twice as deep, but it has been filled with sediments; there may be as much as 1000 feet of glacial sediment in the deep rock trough below the lakebed.
The Finger Lakes originated as a series of northward-flowing rivers that existed in what is now central New York State. Around two million years ago the first of numerous continental glaciers moved southward from the Hudson Bay area, initiating the Pleistocene glaciation, commonly known as the "Ice age."
The "Ice age" was really a series of many advances and retreats of glaciers. The Finger Lakes were probably carved by several of these episodes. Ice sheets more than two miles thick flowed southward, parallel but opposite to the flow of the rivers, gouging deep trenches into these river valleys. Traces of most of the earlier glacial events have vanished, but much evidence remains of the last one or two glaciers that covered New York.
The latest glacial episode was most extensive around 21,000 years ago, when glaciers covered almost the entire state. Around 19,000 years ago, the climate warmed, and the glacier began to retreat, disappearing entirely from New York for the last time around 11,000 years ago. . ."
There MUST be music involved here somewhere. Yes, Keuka Lake is one of the finger lakes. . . and yet another iteration of my composition 'Keuka' demanded my attention this weekend. . .
Dear Global Economy, we thank thee for thy economies of scale, thy professional specialization, and thy international networks of trade under Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage, without which we would all starve to death while trying to assemble the ingredients for such a dinner as this. Amen. - Eliezer Yudkowsky
Let us take a moment to think about where the food we are about to enjoy has come from and to acknowledge those who worked to bring us this food. Let us appreciate the earth, the sun, the air, and the water needed to nourish the plants and animals. Let us thank the farmer who cared for the plants and animals and the migrant worker who toiled to harvest the crops. Let us thank the laborer who processed the food, the truck driver who brought the food, and the grocery store workers who displayed it. Finally, let us thank our friends who prepared this meal and have provided us with the opportunity to be together and share each other’s company. - Herb Silverman
We return thanks to our mother, the earth which sustains us. We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with water. We return thanks to all herbs which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases. We return thanks to the moon and stars, which have given to us their light when the sun was gone. We return thanks to the sun, that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye. Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in Whom is embodied all goodness, and Who directs all things for the good of Her children. - Iroquois Prayer
This food is the gift of the whole universe - the sky, and much hard work. May we eat it in mindfulness, so as to be worthy to receive it. We accept this food so that we may practice the path of understanding and love.
-Thich Nhat Hanh
In the spirit of humility we give thanks for all that is. We thank the great spiritual beings who have shared their wisdom. We thank our ancestors who brought us to where we are now. We are grateful for the opportunity to walk this planet, to breathe the air, to taste the food, to experience sensations of a human body/mind, to share in this wonder that is life. We are grateful for the natural world that supports us, for the community of humankind that enables us to do many wondrous things. We are grateful that we are conscious, that as intelligent beings we can reflect upon the many gifts we have been given. - Unknown
Got no checkbooks, got no banks. Still I'd like to express my thanks - I got the sun in the morning and the moon and night. _ Irving Berlin
When Kenny Chesney comes to town, rest assured there will be party. At Pittsburg's Heinz Field, literal boatloads of fans arrive days before the performance, tying up along the river posing a potential hazard. Meantime, on land, parking is $40 a car and police abound. This does not deter over-the-top behavior who party long and hard for many hours before the show. Garbage and human waste abound.
The recent show in Pittsburgh was notable. Of 50,000 fans, about 75 people were arrested and 45 required medical attention
(Thanks to http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/editorials/pittsburgh-pigsty-kenny-chesney-fans-should-clean-up-their-act-693146/)
