Saturday, August 30, 2014

Sorta Like Sisyphus

But Not Eternally

Moonset 2.jpg
Moonset tonight

Sisyphus was a king in ancient Greek tales, who because of his deceitful and greedy acts was sentenced to the eternal task of rolling a giant boulder up a hill. The boulder was enchanted and should Sisyphus manage to get near the summit, the boulder would roll away from him and end up at the bottom of the hill again and again. More about Sisyphus

IMG_19.jpg
My umbrella - image, iPhone (PowerCam App)

Today I got a 20” fan at Big Lots. It was under $20. My plan is to use a fan to move air around in my apartment. There is always a breeze, however small, blowing outside. Our apartments here at the Treehouse have no cross ventilation so unless the wind is blowing directly toward the windows, it is not moving the air inside.

I have a small fan, but it is much too loud to use continuously. I figured the bigger fan would be spinning more slowly on the low setting thereby reducing the jet turbine/vaccuum cleaner noise that fans often emit.

ProCam2 - Old 2.jpg
My umbrella - image, iPhone ( ProCam2 App )

When I got the fan home and turned it on it was effective at moving air and not too disruptively loud. It did however shake and vibrate from being unbalanced. That was annoying and the floor amplified the sound into a throbbing throughout this apartment and no doubt raining unwanted noise upon my downstairs neighbor.

ProCam2 - New.jpg
New $43 umbrella from Lowes - image, iPhone ( ProCam2 App )

Going back to Big Lots was not how I had planned to spend my day, but I figured I would get it overwith as quickly as possible. The first trip was filled with the usual obstacle course, dodging and trying to anticipate the boneheaded actions of indecisive motorists with an added risk level of road improvements that seem to be going on all over Redding.

New - FZ35.jpg
Nice umbrella

I wasn’t thrilled about another round of hyper awareness on the roads just to exchange the fan for another, but there I was again. I got back with the new fan and it was even more wobbly and out of alignment than the first one. I fortified myself with a piece of pie ala mode and went back into the fray.

Hooray Pie.jpg
A task that I enjoy repeating is organic apple pie

I was coming home for the 3rd time, there was an absence of traffic on Hilltop and it was as I was enjoying the feeling of driving the well designed Buick LeSabre, that I thought of commuting as being very Sisyphean. I am very happy that I no longer commute to work. No matter how nice a car you have, commuting is not driving. It is an endless task that repeats day after day, just like pushing bumper to bumper boulders uphill eternally.   

We really must develop more convenient forms of mass transit so that cars aren’t these Sisyphean boulders that we push to and from work daily.

Today’s Video;


See The USA


Authors Note: Unless otherwise indicated, all images for Phil’s Place are captured with a Panasonic Lumix FZ 35

No comments: