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First Lite Brights, then Geocaching

Alright, again, I don’t like to get political on my blog, but right on the heals of my previous post about the “Boston Aqua Teen Hunger Force Hoax Devices” I saw a news story about how Geocaching can be mistaken as a terrorist activity.I can understand why, but this is a perfect example of letting fear stifle our liberties.For those who don’t know, Geocaching is a sport where users get GPS coordinates to where a box (or cache) is hidden.Users then use a GPS receiver to find the cache, and log the find in a notebook inside, and also online at a later time.Their reward for the find is to take a small treasure from the box.

This is a sport that I took up over the summer, and it really disturbs me that I need fear legal prosecution for simply getting outside and enjoying the meshing of nature and technology.So during all the hype we are seeing from this “Boston Hoax Device” saga keep in mind the hobbies and other innocent pastimes which could become unnecessarily regulated.

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Seasons Greetings

This past Saturday I saw my first snowflakes of the season. This morning I saw my first accumulated snow of the season. In case you didn’t know, I like the snow. Apparently I am a minority. If I have any readers from outside of New England, you might be surprised to know that most New Englanders (at least Massachusetts and south) hate snow and cold. The part I find interesting is that they also hate traffic. People; I am offering the solution. It is extremely simple. I will sum it up i n one word. “Leave.” Think about it, were in Massachusetts, we have seasons. One of them is winter. It snows during winter. If you don’t like it, leave. I don’t like traffic anyway, so if you leave you will be doing both of us a favor. Furthermore, there are many places where property is much cheaper then it is here, and if you go there, you will be able to live more richly.

Yes, I am a skier/snowboarder but that is not necessarily why I love the winter. I love seeing snow covered fields, and trees covered in snow. I recall sledding, building snow forts, and playing in the snow as a child. Becoming exhausted and laying in the snow and hearing silence because of the way snow muffles sound. Seeing snow simply makes me happy, and I really dislike hearing other people do nothing but complain about it. Sure there is some shoveling to be done (AKA cardio exercise,) and driving takes a bit more concentration, but neither of those are such a bad thing.

As you can see I am a fan of winter and all of the seasons we see here in New England. 6 weeks ago some friends and I started a homebrew to commemorate the starting of the winter season. It is done today. Coincidentally, there today is the first day we have seen snow, making the beer’s release seem like perfect timing. If you see me, ask me for a sample. And most importantly enjoy the season.

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