| OK, this has nothing to do with writing. Be warned, this is gardening stuff. I must tell you that gardening, flowers, and all that nature connectivity is high on my list of likes. You can either find me in the library or the garden. There is nothing like the touch of mother earth, digging in the garden. Feeling your fingers in the compost. February is the month for seedings and seedlings. Iwona and I have spent hours selecting what fruits, vegetables, herbs and salads to plant for the coming year. As you know, I’m one of those crazy guys, and I decided to tear away and plant Dandelions. WTF? Have I gone gaga? Perhaps I’m already there, but for good reason. Dandelions are incredible plants. Originating in Eurasia, brought to the Americas by European colonists, this plant now covers all temperate zones worldwide. Taxacum officinale, is a simple perennial, belonging to the Asteraceae family, related to Daisys, chamomile, lettuce and even artichokes. The word dandelion comes from the French “dent de lion” meaning lion’s tooth because of the jagged shape of the leaves. In China, it is called “Pu Gong Ying” or earth nail because it has a long tap root. That root is almost indestructible. If the plant is uprooted, even small sections of root can reintroduce the plant. Roots can survive almost indefinitely, like those of potatoes and other root crops. I despair that it is called the common dandelion. It is one of the strongest plants on this planet. Ask anyone who loves a manicured lawn, why this is a love/hate relationship. Dandelions have Herbaceous, medicinal, artistic, and even spiritual properties. There is a spiritual cycle associated with this plant. Let’s start with its reproduction. It is both sexual and asexual. Science calls it apomixis. I guess it can either take it or leave it? I can harp on about this at great length, but I want to focus on more practical issues. You see, Dandelions are important to local pollinating insects, this includes but is not limited to Bees. Every time you mow the lawn, and get rid of those yellow, Dandelions, you are denying pollinators. You may even be preventing them from life. Every American HOA (Home Owners Association) and lawn enthusiast will stomp on this pretty flower. I am suggesting an alternative to allow it to thrive. Grab your Dandelion and nurture it in a secluded pot. That way, you can enjoy the plant and its flowers. The Birds and the Bees will dance around your garden with delight. Select any number of Dandelions as follows. Use a simple spade or other tool to loosen their root allowing you to extract the plant and root.  You can leave yellow flowers but remove the white seed flowers. Clear any grass or other related roots/growths from the Dandelions. Place the Dandelion root however short/long into a pot of soil. Water it gently and leave it to grow. Don’t worry if you wreck the root or damage the plant in any way, it’s pretty much indestructible. Make sure you have enough plant and root to hold, you can even put a few together in a single pot. Since they are in a pot, they will be easy to control, for instance snip off the white seed flowers as they appear, hence stopping their spread into other garden areas. Show them off to your friends and they’ll think you’re as crazy as I am. |
 I will let out know what happens to my Dandelions. Yeah, this isn’t hot news like if trump is doing right with the world. I’m just trying to do right with my garden. |
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Bernard’s News (February 2025)
Yes, getting ahead of myself here, book 2 isn’t in print yet. Currently book 2 is is revision and editing, hopefully it will be in print soon.
Book covers are in progress.
As for book 3, at long last I have the inspiration!
It has been obvious all along, staring me in my face, knocking at my door. Pounding in my head. Shouting at me, saying, “Listen to me!”
I have been thinking about book 3 of Girl Electric for a long time now. I kept asking myself, how can I continue this series? The answer has suddenly came to me.
May I ask you to think back to your childhood. Did you have free realm in your life? Were you able to choose your destiny? Did you see yourself having a destiny? Were you petulant or demanding in any way? Or were you subservient to your parent’s will?
I was brought up to have none and all of the above.
Perhaps that is the dichotomy of life. Perhaps we all have none and all of the above. Dual vision can enhance your perspective.
Whatever it is, I have to get working on this…
Remember, there’s no place like home! Except on the other side of the fence?
I decided to read Frankenstein, by Mary Shelly, (should I say the full title?) Frankenstein; or the modern Prometheus. There are many reasons I chose to read this, primarily because I know the original story was radically different than the old Hollywood movies. Also, because Mary Shelly created an everlasting meme from her story. Everything from monsters to genetically modified crops.
While I was reading this, I found my progress to be very slow. I’m not a speed reader at the best of times, but this was becoming ridiculous. As I reflected on the words, I began to realize why I was so slow. The vocabulary used, and the construction of the phrases were more akin to the Victorian era, and not the twenty-first century.
The secret to reading works like this is to not race through the words. As a reader you need to forgive yourself for slow reading and in your mind apply yourself like a formal English gentleman. It may take longer, but it’s a lot more fun.
Casting my mind back to other classic writings, I thought of Shakespear. His writings were theatrical and more poetic. Whilst reading Shakespear in school, it had to be read slow, if only to enjoy the rhythm and his unique descriptives. Reading it slowly enhanced his words.
Then my English literary teacher introduced us to Geoffrey Chaucer. “Open your books to page one.” We were told. Are you kidding me? I couldn’t even read it, never mind understanding it. “Please sir, can I do a double class in mathematics instead?” I asked because I had to get out of there.
“Shut up Wozny! Sit in the front row and behave yourself.”
Chaucer turned out to be some of the greatest writings I ever encountered. Our teacher instructed us with a simple trick; read it in an old English accent. The closest I can describe is Somerset or Cornwall accents, similar to pirate slang. The entire class took off, and we competed amongst ourselves to read aloud.
So, what is the point of all this? I’ve led you through part of my literary appreciation for what reason?
Reading is a remarkable thing; in a sense, it is not natural for us. Modern humans are about 300,000 years old, while we’ve only had writing for about 5,000 years. Yet look at how the written words guide you along, suggesting to you how fast or slow to read it. I have read some passages (Stephen King) which made me jump out of my seat. Other comical books can cause me embarrassment while I burst into uncontrollable laughter.
If you are a writer, bear these thoughts in mind. The art of reading is the direct result of the art of writing. I cannot begin to advise how to construct such lively text, I have enough challenges of my own.
Remember, your words must be read.
They say that writers should share their personal experiences with their readers. They say it adds depth and makes you look real, well here it goes.
When I lived in England, I frequently gave blood. I did this because hospitals are always in need, and I could rest assured that I indirectly saved lives. I was not paid for my efforts, but the National Health Service (NHS) did provide all you can eat ice cream and cookies.
At each session a pint of blood was extracted. The body replaces that pint very quickly from bone marrow reserves. However, it takes time for the reserves to recover, so donating blood could only be done every month or two.
When I came to California, one of the first things I did was stop at a hospital and ask if I could donate blood. They asked, “Are you from England?” I had to answer affirmative, whereupon they refused my blood. The reason being CJD, or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, also known as mad cow disease. This incurable Illness was killing British cattle, and if you ate infected beef, you would also succumb.
I did get some free ice cream though!
More recently this American restriction was lowered, and by chance I came upon an offer where I could donate plasma. This time it wasn’t for ice cream; I would get paid for my bodily life fluids. Plasma is the fluid that carries the red blood cells, it is made up of 90% water and the rest is protein and minerals. They extract the blood, separate the red cells and platelets with a centrifuge. They keep the plasma and return the red stuff back into your arm in a saline solution. This is done in stages, extracting and returning and the whole process takes about an hour.
The downside is you have a piece of plumbing stuck in your arm which is connected to a big device which seems to be a cross between a washing machine and a drinks dispenser.
The upside is plasma can be donated (or sold) twice a week. Which also means I get paid twice a week.
I thought this was super cool!
Pretty soon, my arms began to look like that of a drug addict. To coin a phrase, I began to feel drained. The processing that preceded each session was repetitive, and tedious, a bit like checking into hospital. The dollar signs that previously lit up my eyes were fading. I realized I need my plasma more than I need their money. In future, I will stay true to my principles of giving to those in need.
The moral of this story?
Good things don’t always last.
If they don’t then they probably weren’t good things to begin with.
We planned for it in advance, but all good road trips follow a life of their own.
A trip to witness the 2024 Eclipse in North America. Checking several months ahead, flights to anyplace in areas of totality were stupidly expensive, hotels more so. Someone is making money, but it’s not me.
The decision was made to go to Niagara Falls, flying into Toronto, the weather would probably be good, and it’s a great place to visit. For some reason (probably economical) we flew Sunday night, April 7, arrived Monday morning, April 8, and hoped to race to the area of full totality.
What could possibly go wrong?
The weather for a start. Clouds and heavy rain were forecast, and maybe even snow. I almost stayed at home.
Car rental was second. Although booked and paid for, when we got there, the rental office was operated like a Muppet Show with Kermit in charge. I wasn’t laughing at the delays, but our tight schedule eventually held up.
As we drove from Toronto into the area of totality, it wasn’t raining, but the sky was heavy with clouds. I was resigned to disappointment as traffic became heavy. Our hotel was in Hamilton Ontario, on the way to Niagara. The slow progress persuaded us to have a pit-stop at the hotel.
Pit-stop turned into the prime stop, because the sky broke, the clouds cleared, and the sun came out (Yippy!). Instead of glorious Niagara Falls, we opted for the hotel parking lot. We donned our eclipse glasses, cameras, and other parts of spiritual wellbeing to observe the eclipse.
It turned out that Niagara suffered under cloud cover and did not see the eclipse.
I managed to take some pictures of the eclipse in our parking lot. The following are raw photos, without post processing, other than cropping to size. I only had basic equipment.
The first is when totality is about to begin, it’s commonly known as the diamond ring. A small portion of the sun is still visible at the edge of the moon. Blasting a flash of light just like a diamond on a ring.
The second is during totality. The corona or solar atmosphere is clearly visible. Notice that there are some red spots on the edge, these were solar flares shooting sideways out from the sun. This is one of the things professional observers are on the lookout for. Understanding these helps to know what our star is doing and how it behaves.
The next picture is from NASA, if you zoom in close, your will see some similar red spots on the edge.
OK, mine aren’t perfectly in focus, but they’re pretty good for the equipment I had.
It was pretty awe inspiring to see a black hole blocking out the sun. All around us on the horizon it was like a sunset – it was dark like evening, and the birds were shouting “bedtime!”.
The eclipse only lasted a few minutes, and we were able to see the shadow of darkness move away to the northeast.
Some interesting facts:
We are lucky to have eclipses at all. Most planets have moons that do not create an eclipse, they are usually much too small to block out the sun.
There are 2 types of eclipse: total eclipse and annular eclipse. The moon moves in an ellipse so is sometimes closer, and sometimes further from the Earth. This means it doesn’t quite match the perceived size of the sun.
In an annular eclipse, the moon appears smaller allowing a thick boarder of sun around the moon.
2024 was a rare occasion when the Sun and Moon match almost perfectly.
About 700 million years ago, the moon was slightly closer, meaning all eclipses were total, longer, and darker.
The moon is slowly getting more distant from the Earth, meaning in about half a million years (give or take) the moon will appear smaller than the Sun and all eclipses will be annular.
The moral of this story?
Don’t take plan A too seriously.
Don’t worry about plan B either.
You don’t need to worry about anything.
Just live and enjoy eclipses while we can.
| March is Women’s History Month, and that is two of my favorite subjects. Women and history. The story this month is worthy of any fictional plot, it is full of love, devotion, endurance, and living outside of your defined boundaries. This is the true story of Emily Warren Roebling, whom I like to call, the Mother of the Brooklyn Bridge. Born Emily Warren in 1843, on September 23, she married Washington Roebling in 1865. Emily was well educated and interested in applied sciences. Washington was an engineer, working for his father’s company. Their mutual love of the sciences probably spurred their love for each other. |
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Washington was the son of John Roebling, a German born and very ingenious bridge designer. He was the architect of the Brooklyn Bridge, an advanced construction for its day. This bridge has rightfully taken its place as a National Historic Landmark. After their marriage, Emily and Washington went to Germany to study caissons for the construction of bridge foundations. A caisson is basically a concrete tower sunk in place to enable workers to lay concrete at the bottom of a river. Pneumatic, or compressed-air caissons, prevent water seepage, and allow for dryer working conditions. Since it acts as a diving bell, workers must slowly decompress before exiting. On their return from Germany, Washington’s father, John Roebling died from tetanus, contracted through a work injury. This left the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge in serious doubt. The project was left to Washington, as he was recognized as the only person capable of completing the task. One day while exiting a caisson, Washington suffered a decompression accident, causing the ‘Bends’. This is where soluble gasses decompress and expand inside the body, damaging tissues, organs, and nerves. This often proves fatal, but Washington was left severely crippled and bed ridden, leaving him unable to continue managing the project. Once again construction of the Brooklyn Bridge was in doubt, but Emily stepped in to manage the project to its completion. She was the only one who fully understood the design, construction techniques, strength of materials, the intricate interweaving of supporting cables, catenary curves. Washington would observe progress through a telescope from his bed in Brooklyn Heights, both he and Emily liaised closely on design issues. As well as design and project management, Emily had to contend with financiers, politicians, and rival engineers. As she managed so efficiently and promoted the project so rigorously, many began to believe that it was Emily who was the chief designer. Emily oversaw the successful completion of the bridge. On the opening day, she rode in the leading carriage across the bridge. I quote from the opening speech by the Mayor Abram Stevens Hewitt; “An everlasting monument to the sacrificing devotion of a woman, and of her capacity for that higher education from which she has been too long disbarred.” The moral of this story? History is not just a story; it is a lesson to be learned. Women are attractive, but they are a lot more than just a bit of crumpet. Thank you for following me this far. As always play nicely with everyone else. That’s all folks! Bernard Wozny Self-Published author. Keep reading… Keep Writing… Keep sailing on… And behave? President of the California Writers’ Club – Sacramento Branch. Check out our website (www.cwcsacramentowriters.org) |
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Once upon a time, there was a little Dragon. The funny thing about this Dragon was, she didn’t know she was a Dragon. This is because nobody told her, but also, she didn’t bother to find out. That is often the case with heroes, or in this case heroines. In fact, many people in this world don’t realize who or what they are.
One Christmas, she met a Pig. The Pig knew he was a Pig. Nobody needed to tell him that because it was obvious. “There is nothing wrong with being a Pig. Eating, drinking, and relaxing in a warm bubbly mud bath. That’s the life for me!” He often said.
Pigs are warm at heart, free spirited, and they like their comfort. They indulge in wealth but care little for money. If anything, they are generous, always sharing with friends. They can also be finicky. After all, any old mud puddle will not do. It must be just right. Perfectly warm and bubbly and, of course, soothing for the skin.
Dragons, as you know, are powerful and enigmatic. They are visionary, goal oriented. Dragons say that they like to be romanced. I’ve heard others say idolized. They are supposed to have a keen sense of self, but this young Dragon lacked that quality. That’s ok because she was still young.
When the Dragon met the Pig, the Dragon thought little of the Pig. “Humph,” she said to herself, “what a scruffy, raggedy old Pig.” What she didn’t see was the warm heart inside.
The Pig thought, “Hm, nice girl, a bit young, but maybe we could go out together for a while?”
They did just that. The next day, they went downtown to hang out and see a movie. They watched the Bruce Lee movie, Enter the Dragon. Bruce Lee was famous in those days for being a super-duper Kung Foo hero. Since he was born in 1940, which also made him a Dragon. Since this was his first movie, Enter the Dragon was a very appropriate title.
Neither the Pig nor the young Dragon realized the significance of this. The Pig only thought, Ok, you’re taking me to see a Bruce Lee movie, whatever.
Years passed by and they didn’t see each other. Until one day, the young Dragon traveled to Scotland to pick strawberries. This wasn’t the first time the young Dragon traveled, but it was a long journey overseas for her.
The Pig was a confident traveler, visiting many mud puddles with many friends. When he received a message that the Dragon was in Scotland, he asked her to visit him.
That is exactly what she did. One day she turned up at the Pig’s mud hut, where he welcomed her with a warm and open heart. So, this story is certainly NOT love at first sight, but now it’s turning into whoopie!
They had to part, but they now were both seasoned travelers, and every time they traveled, they would make sure to meet each other for some more whoopie. This stuff is habit forming.
One spring day, they decided to stay together forever. As you know, it’s not yet forever, but the Dragon and the Pig are still together. In fact, they have two children, a Dragon, and a tiger, in that order.
Did they live happily ever after? That only happens in fairy tales.
The good news is that no one has cooked, shredded, or minced The Pig.
The moral of this story?
Everyone loves a bit of bacon!
And where would man be without fire?
That’s all folks!
| Bernard Wozny Self-Published author. www.bernardwozny.com Keep reading… Keep Writing… Keep sailing on… And behave? President of the California Writers’ Club – Sacramento Branch. Check out our website (www.cwcsacramentowriters.org) |
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By the time you read this, it may already be the New Year! Whatever your time, I hope you enjoyed the winter holiday season. I also hope you are looking forward to 2024. The New Year always warrants a celebration. The countdown brings everyone’s attention to the moment we cross into the future. In many ways, this is artificial because every single moment of our lives transfers us into something new. Individual moments rarely carry new intentions. Each New Year’s transition is a symbolic representation of new horizons. I have many new intentions. Read more, write more, publish more. There are other promises, such as stop being a grumpy old goat. What I find with our resolutions, we often stray from our intention. Perhaps it’s because we overburden ourselves with these promises. In my opinion, we need to define a basic theme for ourselves, maybe even create a mantra that we can use to remind ourselves. Before you become bored with my self-help nonsense, please pay attention to my simplified theory of New Year’s resolutions. According to my calculations, my intention is not impossible. Too many resolutions often result in failure. Simplicity is the best answer. My resolve is to… FOCUS! This is the root. The prime number. The least common denominator. In the literary world, all elements of a story are FOCUSED on a theme. May I offer a simple mantra – Define your theme and FOCUS on the correct way forward. I have already set my literary goals and researched my path. I even have the determination to achieve. As I FOCUS on my future, I intend to sell more books. This sounds like a capitalistic ambition, but you are mistaken. I will not quote scripture, but all books say it is wrong to “Hide your light under a bushel”. I need to spread my words to others. I’m coming out. I already have an ally in my resolve. Remember my new chair from my last blog post? So far, it’s been helpful to me. Maybe I should give it a name. Is it male or female? Any ideas? For now, I will keep you in suspense, as I cannot yet reveal details of the steps that I take along my path. All I can say is that I will keep you informed. I will bring you stories that are engineered to entertain. These stories may not answer why, but at least, they may enlighten you to the question. I will update you all on my New Year’s progress. Thank you for following me this far. As always play nicely with everyone else. That’s all folks! Bernard Wozny Self-Published author. www.bernardwozny.com Keep reading… Keep Writing… Keep sailing on… And behave? President of the California Writers’ Club – Sacramento Branch. Check out our website (www.cwcsacramentowriters.org) |
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I have a new friend!
It’s not male or female, in fact, it’s not even alive. Before you ask, it’s not even one of those artificial intelligent things. The closest it gets to a computer is a couple of feet.
Who or what is it? I hear you ask, it’s a chair. Not just any chair, it’s a kneeling chair. The first time I saw one, I fell in love, and I’ve been after one ever since.
Everyone praises the way it supports posture, a fact that I concur with. There is a second reason I love these is attentiveness. I am upright with correct posture, with a comfortably balanced spine. My position is above the computer, where I can remain focused on my work. OK, I can still find excuses for working slow, but this certainly is the right direction.
You can see how I used to work at my desk, chronic lethargy is apparent. Posture that deserves an insult. Propensity to snooze, and look at the computer screen, this knob head is playing games!
Have a look what a kneeling chair can do! You can clearly see that this is a happy man. His posture is upright, while he is comfortably positioned for work. Look at his computer screen, this man is flowing with words.
The rest (sic) is going to sound like a product review.
I fell in love with these seats many years ago, in England, but it took me this long to acquire one. Maintaining posture is paramount, while I keep above and focused on my work.
Choices of these chairs are many, I’ve seen prices range up to nearly $1,000 (WTF?) this cost me less than $150. I chose this model because,
- It is on castors and can move around.
- It has side handles, this is the only model I found with handles.
- Back rest – again this is the only one with back rests. Not too sure about backrests, I can always remove it if I decide to.
- Price – did I mention this is cheap?
- Turns out to be well constructed and robust.
Back to Thanksgiving: as you can imagine, my chair is high on my list of things to be thankful for. Other things rate high, some even higher.
What I really want to be thankful for is not forthcoming. After all my years of existence I understand that some things will never come to pass. For instance, when people ask, “What do you want for Christmas?” I always reply, “World peace.”
I don’t think a chair is much help with that.
Thank you for following me this far.
Keep learning, stay above water, and always play nicely with everyone else.
Bernard
That’s all folks!
This year I accepted the opportunity to deliver the Keynote Speech at the Elk Grove Writer’s Conference.
The title of the speech was “What’s new in Writing and Publishing”. As you can guess, the focus of my presentation was AI.
The speech was filmed and is available on my YouTube Channel.