Moon and Stars - beware!

     I often have trouble sleeping, but this week has seemed especially bad.  Then this morning, various material objects were acting against me.  The window blinds in the dining area (that’s a big window beside my desk) got stuck in the odd way of refusing to stay when I pulled them up.  I was determined to let in some light and finally was able to wrap the cord over the wall attachment at the top.  Then I sat down at the computer.  The internet was working, though connections were slow, but Word refused to open any documents.  In one hour, I actually accomplished nothing.  Could there be a reason for this?  Yes! 

          This weekend we have a strange double whammy of astrological influences.  First of all, Mercury is once again “in retrograde,” meaning that it looks as if it is moving backwards.  The planet is associated with communication, information, electronics, travel, and clear thinking. So a retrograde Mercury can mean that things break or get lost, projects stall, schedules are thrown off, according to horoscope.com.   Furthermore, our modern society is so focused and reliant on technological communication that Mercury has a really big job to do.  A period when Mercury is in retrograde isn't a time to start something new.  During this time we need to be careful, make backups, avoid important papers, keep expectations low.  And try for a good night’s sleep with quiet music, sleep mask, breathing exercises.

          The website Powerful Light advises that this is a good time to back up files, tie up loose ends.  And all the websites explain that this retrograde will continue until just before U.S. Election Day.  So….plan your voting accordingly.  BTW, one keeps reading that this is a Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio.  But it’s in Libra for several more days. 

           BTW, I voted on Oct. 7^th, dropping my ballot at the P.O.  Yesterday I checked online and learned that my ballot has been received.  😀

             The second part of our whammy is the New Moon, which occurred today, October 16^th.   This new moon is so close to earth that its effects on tides (called Spring Tides) will be particularly strong.  However, it probably gets little media attention, as, like all new moons, it is invisible, says Joe Kao on space.com.  New Moons are a time for a fresh start, a new project.  A new moon in Libra should make us feel more balanced and grateful, says Donna Page, astrologer, in Women’s Health magazine.  However, there are astrological obstacles and interferences, beginning with that Mercury retrograde.  On one hand, the New Moon is a time to begin new projects; OTOH, the Mercury situation means we should not undertake new ventures!   And furthermore, according to Nina Kahn on Bustle.com, Pluto, representing power dynamics and transformations, is squaring off with the moon, sun, and Mars, so “we can expect disagreements, roadblocks, hot tempers” all weekend.  Egad!  She advises that we should focus on calmness, kindness, and  justice, the hallmarks of Libra (which, you remember  is represented by scales).

Harvest Moon, October 1st this year!

 

Happy October 1^st!    Happy Full Moon!  Happy Harvest Moon!  Happy Mid-Autumn Festival and Moon Day!   One of these would be enough, wouldn’t it? 

In China, this is the second most important holiday after New Year.  People light lanterns and eat “moon cakes”; but there is a serious background to this, as it’s a time to pray for rain.  Well, we could use rain right now in California to put out some of the awful wildfires raging and destroying.  Anyhow, Moon Day is celebrated all over eastern Asia.  Remember the movie “Teahouse of the August Moon”?  That expression actual refers to the Mid-Autumn Moon.

Why is it a Harvest Moon?  For a few nights, the moon rises right after sunset, and there is so much light that farmers can actually do some outdoor work harvesting—so they did!  The moon may appear to be full for several nights in a row.  Why?  Well, there’s a very good astronomical explanation in the Old Farmers’ Almanac, which I totally do not comprehend; maybe a demonstration with a globe and other apparatus would help me…. 

 Anyhow, such a glorious moon couldn’t help but inspire romantic thoughts, and of course, a famous song.  “Shine on, Harvest Moon” premiered in the Ziegfield Follies of 1908, composed by Nora Bayes, Jack Norworth, and perhaps Dave Stamper.   The song became a staple of vaudeville and barbershop quartets, and has been featured in many movies.  Speaking of films, the  Hallmark channel made a movie called “Harvest Moon” back in 2015 (and of course it’s about a city girl who goes back to the family farm and falls in love, and….). 

A Rant About Tech

 

         Evidently I have a have a particular gene in my DNA that disrupts my interaction with technology.  That’s the modern explanation.  Traditional explanation:  I am jinxed.  To wit:

          On Saturday, September 26^th, AARP sent me a newsletter to my Hotmail account and I clicked on it.  There was an article I was going to read and maybe comment on, so I wanted to log in.  However, I could not find my password (passwords are all in a little notebook, but not very organized).  AARP sent me a link, so I established a new password.  But then I was told that I did not have an account with that email address.  Of course I do!  It’s where they send all the newsletter emails.  Later I found the old password, but now I had a new password…or did I?  I gave up for the time being.

           Later I was on my Yahoo email, and saw a message from Google asking if my Yahoo email was still the back-up.  I clicked and Google wanted me to log in.  I actually found this password in my notebook, but now Google said it did “not recognize the device.”   That is strange, as this laptop computer is the only “device” I use.  Google wanted to text me—how annoying!  I found the Help page, which list several options for verification, all of which require a cell phone.  There is a response box, so I responded that they should think of another option, as not everyone uses a cell phone.  [Actually, according to a Pew Research Survey done in February 2019, 98% of college graduates own a mobile phone.  Well, I own one that I do not use, and some ofmy close friends do not even own one.]

          A few minutes later, I received a Security Alert on Yahoo.  It was from Google, announcing that someone had tried to sign in using my password, but Google had valiantly halted the intruder…Um, yeah, Google, that was me trying to sign in!

          Even little things perplex me.  I was scrolling through Yahoo mail and suddenly the cursor went wild and zoomed down to the bottom of the page.  Possessed, I suppose.

          You Tube also hates me.  Often when I try to watch something—which is once or twice a week—I am confronted with an error message.  The advice is to (wait for it!) “restart the computer” (why, if I just turned it on five minutes ago???), or to “get Chrome.”  Hmph!  I replied, “I want Help, not a sales pitch.”

          At least I was able to do my weekly Zoom meeting.  I look ghastly on Zoom, but evidently this is my fault.  For financial reasons, I had purchased the cheapest webcam I could find.  On the Zoom picture, I look old (well, I am old, but I mean really old) with yellow-green skin.  I came across a video (on You Tube!) on how to look better on Zoom.  I was instructed to place my laptop near a window for one thing—one impossible thing.  The windows are all on one side of the apartment and there is no way to place the laptop near any of them--I mean, without totally re-configuring the furniture, and that is simply not feasible (if I included photos, you would understand).  Furthermore, I’d have to disconnect the laptop (which I use like a desktop) and find a place for the speakers. 

          Later, that same day, the computer just froze.  Even after restarting, was not able to use Outlook.  I suppose Outlook is trying to badger me into converting.  I mean, it wants me to acquire Microsoft 365.  I’ve been toddling along with MS Home and Student 2007, which seems appropriate, as I have  Windows 7 that came installed on this Toshiba Satellite.  So I don’t get updates, nor can I access “help” for Word problems.  Well, I recently looked up Microsoft 365.  It costs $70 per year, rather than being a one-time purchase, as before.  We are urged to use it with Windows 10.  I looked up Windows 10 and was admonished that one should not install it on an old computer.  So I am supposed to go buy a new computer and also pay a yearly fee…on whose credit card, I ask?

          Lately one sometimes sees a post on Facebook from someone who wants to go back and live in the past.  So I was thinking, maybe I should have lived 100 years ago.  No problems with computer connections, no web pages slowing down my connection, no notices that I am disconnected from the internet, no television without sound or having other problems, no fuzzy or sporadic sound when talking to someone who’s using a cell phone, no company nagging me to upgrade and buy new electronics, etc.  Yep, a simple life.  Back then people just worried about fire, plague, drought, paying the landlord….

          Except…now we still get to worry about those things…. plus the electronic woes.