Election Fever - and a Cook Out

I never really understood how the election system here in the USA worked. I mean I knew that there were primaries but until I actually saw them happening around me, I never really understood. I do now, and New Hampshire, where Liz and I live, has been one of the best places to witness them from. Traditionally NH is the first state to hold primaries, and we were inundated with months of town hall meetings, diner walk-ins and other types of electioneering leading up to the primaries. Although I didn't vote myself (it will be another 22 months before I am eligible to become a citizen) I did go down to witness the voting - back then there were 18 GOP candidates and just the 2 Democrats, both of whom are still in the race.

The only Republican remaining in the race today is the bombastic Trump, who has been called a misogynist, a xenophobe, narcissistic, arrogant, patronizing, a racist and many other justified descriptions. For a collection of the better ones visit this webpage. I cannot understand how anyone can be taken in by this self-opinionated individual. I sometimes feel quite glad that I don't have the vote just yet.

On Saturday the local Food Co-op was one of out ports of call - it was the 7th anniversary of their opening, so there were plenty of free samples being handed out. One of the free offerings was a caricature artist, who did the above drawing for us. Later that afternoon we drove over to Vermont to Jake and Julie's for a cook out. Fortunately we were blessed by having good weather with temperatures in the 70s (that's the low 20s ˚C). At the time of writing it has dropped to just a couple of degrees above freezing - that's NH for you.

It was a fun afternoon - two sets of grandparents and pork chops, hot dogs, hamburgers and all wound up with S'mores around the fire My many friends and relatives on the other side of the Pond will probably have no idea what S'mores are - I didn't, but you can see what they are on this Wikipedia page.

Beer - a Few Thoughts

I was weaned on beer.  From about my 10th birthday my parents were in the Hospitality industry, first when my dad was steward of the Stourbridge Institute and Social Club, and then running a 26 bedroom brewery owned hotel named the Bell Hotel (with 5 bars!). The Bell was tied to the Wolverhampton & Dudley Brewery, whose Banks' Best Bitter was my beer of choice for a number of years when at home until I finally left the UK  for warmer climes in 1972. Not that that was the only beer I experienced. I was one of a crowd of young adults who spent a lot of time meeting in a number of different pubs - I recall the Crown at Iverley, the Navigation, The Plough at Claverley and the Unicorn in Wollaston village. Our favorite beverage when on pub crawls was either draft Bass or Worthington E.

After joining the Royal Navy in 1964 I was introduced to a wider variety of beers. My first encounter with beers during my naval career was at the Floaters (The Floating Bridge Inn) in Dartmouth while I was at Britannia Royal Naval College, though I can't recall the brand of beer that they served back then. After my introductory Officer's Course I moved to Malta for several months for the Naval Observer's Course, and it was here that I was introduced to Cisk lager. On the completion of that course I was posted to the Royal Naval Air Station at Lossiemouth in Morayshire, then home of the Buccaneer strike aircraft, and it was here that I tasted my first Scottish beers, Youngers and McEwans ales. Three tours on aircraft carriers to the Far East brought me into contact with Tiger (Singapore), Tusker (Mombasa, Kenya), Fosters (Perth & Sydney, Australia), San Miguel (Subic Bay, Philippines) and a cluster of others in Hong Kong, New Zealand and other ports of call.

My emigration from the UK to Rhodesia in 1972 and later to South Africa marked the start of a dearth of good beers. The sum total being Lion and Castle lagers in both countries and Zambezi in Rhodesia. There is little doubt in my mind that South African Breweries "powers that be" lack imagination, and there is certainly room for the development of craft beers, of which there are none at all in that country. This scarcity was to last until I relocated to the United States some 42 years later.

Some of the beers in my closet

Up here in New England there are, without any doubt, some of the best beers I have ever tasted, as well as scores that I have yet to sample. Craft beers are a big thing here, and there is a huge variety to choose from. The average price of a box of 12 beers in New Hampshire is around $12, which works out to 66p for a 355ml bottle, although a few weeks ago I found some at a local market selling at $5 for a case of 12. The most common and popular beers are around 5.5% to 6% alcohol by volume, although I have found one or two on the Internet  as high as 18%!

It has been interesting doing some of the research for this article. Only when I started researching the names of some of the foreign beers I had forgotten, did I discover that a number of countries are turning towards craft beers. Also some countries, such as Belgium, have beers that go back many hundreds of years. Australia surprised me with a huge number of craft beers. Much as I'd like to taste some of the older beers of Belgium and the many varieties of craft beer in Oz, I will have to be content with what is available locally - and there is plenty to choose from without having to resort to to such common brands as Budweiser or Millers.

The Passing of Time

It's been a while since I last (metaphorically) put pen to paper - mea culpa! Time flies past so quickly these days. I have been busy putting together a new website for a veterinary clinic in the Northeast Kingdom (for those of you who are not familiar with where that is, it is in northern Vermont next to the border with Canada).

The passage of time is perceived differently by every individual. It has been theorized that the brain compares the passage of a fixed length of time with the total length of time it has experienced since birth. Thus an hour for a three year old is an eternity, whereas for an old-timer like me it passes in the mere blink of an eyelid. The older you get, the faster time appears to pass by.

I have been reading some interesting things about time of late. Mostly in the context of space-time and Quantum theory. Time, of course, is your most valuable asset - more valuable than money. No matter who you are, you should make the best possible use of the time that you have been given, for you never know when it is going to be taken away from you. You can never guarantee how much time you have remaining. Eventually each of us will run out of time - that's guaranteed. I recall vividly from many years ago the time when I was on a dummy strike mission in a navy jet when, during a dummy dive bombing attack, we were hit by a second aircraft. In this particular case both aircraft landed safely, but I worked out from the size and position of the dent on my aircraft and its speed at the time that I had come within one hundredth of a second of a very untimely death.

Of course suddenly having your time taken away from you can happen at any time and to anyone. It can happen crossing the road or in your sleep, in an earthquake or a thunderstorm, Only the very old, the very sick or those who have decided that they want no more time are aware of its impending demise. My message is - while you still have it, make the best of the time you have been given.

Blue Screen - Windows Warning

For several weeks now I have been getting blue screen warnings with an audio message encoraging me to phone a Toll-free Help line (1-844-552-7825) in order to fix it. If you have this problem DO NOT call the number as it is a complete scam. You will get an Indian voice claiming to be a Microsoft Technician and may end up being scammed for a couple of hundred dollars. Here's how I eventually fixed mine, all thanks to a bright gentleman called Stelian Pilici .

I found the fix at the malwaretips.com webpage. There are 4 distinct steps - don't be satisfied with just the one step and believe that the malware has been removed - be patient and take the time to go through all 4 steps.

STEP 1: Remove Windows Warning Error adware with AdwCleaner
STEP 2: Remove Windows Warning Error browse hijacker Junkware Removal Tool
STEP 3: Remove Windows Warning Error pop-up virus with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
STEP 4: Double-check for the “Windows Warning Error” malware with HitmanPro

In each case you will be able to download an executable file that you should run. Step 4 will prompt you for a product code after you have completed the scan. If you don't wish to purchase a license, opt for the free 30-day trial - this will activate the part of the program that carries out the cleaning of what malware remains on your computer.

There is also an optional 5th step you can take if you need to - you'll find that on the malwaretips.com webpage. Please note that I cannot guarantee that this will eliminate your problem as scam artists are forever changing their methods, software etc.


I hope you have found this useful - if you have please share it wherever.

Letter from America

This week marks the 1st anniversary of my historic (for me) arrival in America - one giant step for me and just a small leap forward for mankind. I have learned much during these first 52 weeks in the States. Before anyone sets foot in this country, most people have already formed an impression in their minds about the place; an impression that has been fabricated mostly from television programs. Before I make any specific remarks, let me just say that my own impressions since being here have been fashioned by the region I am living in. America is a big country, so what I am reporting on may not necessarily be true for every region of every state. However up here in the North Country its validity holds.

Firstly, forget about all of those glamorous lady cops and agents you see on your black screens - people here are very ordinary, the sort of people that you would come across in any average city in the rest of the world. Okay I have seen a couple of the fairer sex that I've had to do a double take on, and they may be more common in New York City or southern California. Of course demographics come into it, so allow me to give you some local figures (by courtesy of Wikipedia). According to the 2010 Census, the population up here near the Canadian border was 94% white and just 1% black or African American. Of the total 23.3% are of French or French Canadian extraction, 20.5% Irish, 16.1%  English and some 30% from other European countries. 92% of the population speaks only English at home - indeed I have yet to hear or speak French - I guess I will have to wait for my first visit to Canada, only 47 miles away as the crow flies.

I have always been an avid reader - I love the novels of Nelson deMille and Umberto Eco, to give examples of the genre I prefer. This may have something to do with why I took to writing some ten years ago. A couple of weeks ago I joined the local library, which, although small, puts to shame those that I have been used to in southern Africa over recent years. Here, not only may I take out 30 items at a time, but I have been able to borrow such valuable sources of good writing as Harper's (no - not Harper's Bazaar), The New Yorker, Scientific American and an excellent magazine for any writer that was unknown to me until a couple of days ago, Writer's Digest.

So what have I achieved since I have been here? Well, at great expense and a lot of stressful waiting, I am at last a permanent resident with a green card, authority to work, a social security number, and a state driver's license. When that official notification arrived in the post saying "Welcome to the United States of America", a huge weight dropped off of my shoulders. All of the signs here point towards a buoyant economy, although at least 90% of the jobs advertised locally are for openings in one of the medical or nursing professions. I have been trying for a number of writing jobs, but prospective employers here are extremely bad at replying to my emails. They don't seem to realize that it is both courteous and considerate to reply to a cover letter, even if only to acknowledge its receipt.

Well, it is now the end of April. The snow that had been lying in our yard for four months without break, and up to 3 feet deep, has at last gone, although even as I write there are a few light snowflakes falling from the gray, overcast sky. However there are good signs everywhere that Spring has almost sprung. New green grass is sprouting in the yard, perennials that have been dormant under their white winter blanket have started to sprout new life, and the squirrels and chipmunks have reappeared in the yard, rummaging for last fall's hidden acorns and other seeds. Last week, before all the snow had melted, two white tailed deer strolled out of the forest opposite, and up the road right outside the house. And we no longer have to have both central heating furnace and the pellet stove going 24/7.

One thing that it's difficult to get away from in America is her politics, and it's something that you don't really notice that much until you actually live with it, and yet it's here on a day to day basis. For example up here in the North Country we have at least six free local newspapers. Hardly a week goes by without some columnist having a dig at a national political figure. For my readers who are not that familiar with it, the United States is split down the middle in a number of different ways. There are just the two parties - the Democrats on the left and the Republicans or GOP (Grand Old Party) on the political right. But that is not the only split. To southerners, northerners are still "Yankees", the southerners are "Rednecks" to those living in the North, and there is a lot of sentiment on both sides in that regard. There is the split between those who favor abortion and the pro-life supporters, those such as the NRA (National Rifle Association) which advocates the widespread ownership of guns, and those who would like much more gun control. The NRA had more than 5 million members in 2013, according to Wikipedia.