Hammock-based study of celestial mechanics

One of my favorite pastimes is to lay in a hammock at sunset, 
and late into the night, 
under a clear sky and a crescent moon, 
and imagine the celestial mechanics of the solar system.

I imagine how it must *feel* to be this enormous Earth, 
spinning backwards, with a slow wobble, at 1000 miles per hour 
while hurtling forward 60,000 miles per hour 
pulled by the gravity of a sun 92 million miles away,  
All this action goes on in seeming slow motion 
by the 7 billion humans scurrying over the surface, 
never suspecting that their earth is only a virus 
in the eye of a newt on a log in a bog 
on another planet in another solar system...

Earth doesn't know this, couldn't know this; 
it just keeps blasting through space, 
in this captive dance, 
with perfect precision, 
for billions of years...

Just when I almost get that feeling, 
I lose it, or I fall asleep. 
But mostly, I fall asleep before I can imagine that far.

Happy Thanksgiving 2009. Peace, love.

My 5 minutes of Hammock Therapy

email from friend tells of her 1st attempt at "Hammock Therapy":

 First of all a little history:

MM and I have known each other for a VERY long time-

We sort of  lost track (didn’t look) of each other- Also for a very long time-

You know how people cross your mind for no reason sometimes?

Well I was at my computer and MM just popped into my mind and I typed in his name

on search- and Poof there was a blog with his name on it- I’m thinking No Way!

 But I started reading it and then looked at the pictures and there he was-

I just Love the internet- I swear my IQ has gone up 10 points-

 Anyway he makes himself very accessible on his blog so I wrote him a note-

Not wanting to be intrusive I did put my information in the note- Just said hi and ask if he remembered me-

 I hardly ever use my Yahoo email address but  am on the Yahoo FoursquareHouses group because I’ve been restoring my house and keep the step by step pictures and we (the group) post questions and information there-

 I noticed I had mail and it was MM- We were both pretty surprised- I mean it’s only been… (I can hardly even say it!)

30 years-

MM has defiantly changed over the years- We were both super hyper back in the day- More energy than we knew what to do with-

 I was really surprised to hear about how much time MM spends in the hammock… Hermit! That also surprised me- After all I knew MM as Mr. Social, out and about constantly- Not the Hammock guy! Well I guess he’s still social but now its on the internet- Pool games are best at his home- Frisbee is best on his beach- You know, Hermit stuff-

 But the time spent on the Hammock amazed me- MM convinced me I should try it- So I bought one- But I’m still working and still restoring my house and I have a 57 Thunderbird an family that need care and feeding (not literally) but you know how families and old cars require a lot of attention-

 I never got around to any of  MM hammock therapy- So one beautiful Texas Saturday I went out and got on the hammock and took pictures of what I saw laying there, to prove to MM I did it-

 It lasted about 5 minutes- In that 5 minutes all I could think about was what all I need to do- The cell phone rang twice (not a good thing to take with you for hammock therapy)  and the neighbor came over to see what I was doing-

I’m retiring in February and I am going to make myself get into Hammock Therapy- and I hope I’m as happy in retirement as MM is- Hermit,  is maybe going a little far for me but you never know, as time goes on-


Written by "ckc57tbird"

Most Deserved Hammock

After 10 years of focus, I finally took a break from work,
and moved to a place a bit larger than my 500 s.f. apartment.
One of the first bits of decorating my new home was this hammock.
I remember it fondly...

Mikie's Fun House, Version 1.0 -- Rancho Santa Fe, CA   1993

Here's a wide shot, with the pool in the foreground:

HammockForums.net

HammockForums.net

Get yourself a couple of these neat stickers, only a buck each.

Crazy College Kids and their hammocks!

Kids!  What'll they do next?

Here they take the fine and gentle art of hammocking and turn it into an extreme sport:




For more, see http://extremehammock.com/

Bears Like Hammocks!

Hammocks I have known: MFH #4a

Mikie's Fun House version 4.0 has a narrow balcony with barely enough space for this single place hammock.  It was made with a loosely woven cotton thread and wore out rather quickly.  The hammock stand was all metal and rusted quickly, but as a wise man once observed:  "any hammock is better than no hammock".

This is a place where I have spent many pleasurable hours.

Some special nights I fall asleep here,

to the sounds of the surf,

while watching the stars drift through the sky.

I have solved many of the world's problems here,

and then I go to sleep

only to forget the solutions when I wake up!

After the first hammock wore out, I replaced it with a canvas model which has proven much more durable (made in Honduras).  I had to do some inventing to build a hammock support which was not in the way, underneath the hammock, and was not attached to the new metal railing (a requirement of the homeowner association rules).  See hammock video clip below:

Hammocks I have known: MFH #2

Mikie's Fun House, version 2.0, there was a place of honor reserved for the hammock, next to the pool, shaded by two young trees, in a bed of flowering plants.  Private, quiet, warm, comfortable... what more can you want?

I once lay in this hammock and watched a couple of new hummingbirds take their first flights, and it all happened just a couple of feet away from my face!  It was a most extraordinary event.

It seems that when you are lying in a hammock good things happen.

The hammock stand was a discovery in a Hammacher-Schlemmer catalog, probably in '92-93.  The simplicity and elegance of it really hit me.  It was a must-have.

The rope hammock is made by Pawley's Island.  You can get one from Amazon.com at this link.

Product Features Color: Oatmeal Hand-woven DuraCord rope hammock offers the comfort of cotton Superior outdoor durability with solution-dyed color-fastness Wood stretcher bars hand-dipped in multiple coats of marine varnish Includes zinc-plated steel hanging hardware for tree installation Measures 55 by 82 inches with overall length of 13 feet It was a great party hammock.  Who doesn't like a hammock?  Here's evidence: