When Lightening Strikes, Breathe Deep
I haven't finished writing about deep breathing yet. There are two, maybe three more installments to come before I discuss other practices that facilitate health and fitness. I was in the process of posting the next deep breathing article when we were hit by lightening. Well, we weren't actually hit, but it came close enough to necessitate an immediate change of plans - and put the fear of God in me.
Thunderstorms always seem to start somewhere else. You hear thunder, see lightening flashes and sometimes the rain in the distance, all long before any of it reaches you. Even when you are too busy to check the sky for signs of a storm, the increasing loudness of the thunder is usually a pretty good indicator that one is headed your way.
We pay close attention to the signs of thunderstorms around here. The lightening can wreak havoc on electronics like computers, so we routinely turn everything off at the first sign that a thunderstorm is headed our way. Surge protectors notwithstanding, it's better to be safe than sorry.
There were intermittent thunderstorms here the day I was ready to post the second breathing article. We would hear the sound of thunder in the distance, turn everything off, the storm would come, and after it passed on we would turn everything on again to squeeze in a bit of work before the cycle started again. It was during one of the lulls in the storm that I turned on my computer to post the article, when suddenly - without warning - the storm hit us again. And this time it was right outside the window. There was a simultaneous crack of thunder, loud enough to set my ears ringing, louder in fact than anything I can remember experiencing, and a blinding flash of lightening that produced a wave of electrical energy strong enough to disrupt our telephone transmissions. That was Thursday, July 21st, around four in the afternoon.
At first I thought that the lightening had hit the house or the ground near it, but the house wasn't damaged, and the wasn't a telltale scorch mark or grass fire outside. It was a tree across the road that got hit. It was blasted to bits, sending flaming pieces flying and starting a small fire on the roof of a neighbor's shed. The fire was quickly put out, the shed was saved, and we thought that that was the full extent of the damage, until we tried to get back online. The next day we learned the lightening strike had fried the modem. It took several days to get a new one, and several more days for me to get the laptop I use to access the new modem.
In the meantime, I used computers at the public library to check my email. I had gotten a lot of feedback from an initial group of 100 that I had invited to check out this blog. About 60 of you actually did take a look during the first 24 hours after I launched it. And some of you contacted me with observations and suggestions.
While most of you said that you liked the forest green motif, including the contrasting light green print against the dark green background, there were a few who said that that background made it difficult for them to read the text. That observation coupled with the fact that it is easier for search engines to read and index pages that have black text on a white background has prompted me to make some minor changes in the design. Now it should be easier for everyone, including search engines, to read the text.
In my next post I will tell you about long-term negative consequences of shallow, upper-chest breathing, as promised, that is, "God willing and the creeks don't rise." That's what my grandmother used to say whenever she made a promise to do something. Maybe grandma should have added "and if lightening don't strike" - but that's probably covered by the "God willing" part.
Until next time, Peace.Thunderstorms always seem to start somewhere else. You hear thunder, see lightening flashes and sometimes the rain in the distance, all long before any of it reaches you. Even when you are too busy to check the sky for signs of a storm, the increasing loudness of the thunder is usually a pretty good indicator that one is headed your way.
We pay close attention to the signs of thunderstorms around here. The lightening can wreak havoc on electronics like computers, so we routinely turn everything off at the first sign that a thunderstorm is headed our way. Surge protectors notwithstanding, it's better to be safe than sorry.
There were intermittent thunderstorms here the day I was ready to post the second breathing article. We would hear the sound of thunder in the distance, turn everything off, the storm would come, and after it passed on we would turn everything on again to squeeze in a bit of work before the cycle started again. It was during one of the lulls in the storm that I turned on my computer to post the article, when suddenly - without warning - the storm hit us again. And this time it was right outside the window. There was a simultaneous crack of thunder, loud enough to set my ears ringing, louder in fact than anything I can remember experiencing, and a blinding flash of lightening that produced a wave of electrical energy strong enough to disrupt our telephone transmissions. That was Thursday, July 21st, around four in the afternoon.
At first I thought that the lightening had hit the house or the ground near it, but the house wasn't damaged, and the wasn't a telltale scorch mark or grass fire outside. It was a tree across the road that got hit. It was blasted to bits, sending flaming pieces flying and starting a small fire on the roof of a neighbor's shed. The fire was quickly put out, the shed was saved, and we thought that that was the full extent of the damage, until we tried to get back online. The next day we learned the lightening strike had fried the modem. It took several days to get a new one, and several more days for me to get the laptop I use to access the new modem.
In the meantime, I used computers at the public library to check my email. I had gotten a lot of feedback from an initial group of 100 that I had invited to check out this blog. About 60 of you actually did take a look during the first 24 hours after I launched it. And some of you contacted me with observations and suggestions.
While most of you said that you liked the forest green motif, including the contrasting light green print against the dark green background, there were a few who said that that background made it difficult for them to read the text. That observation coupled with the fact that it is easier for search engines to read and index pages that have black text on a white background has prompted me to make some minor changes in the design. Now it should be easier for everyone, including search engines, to read the text.
In my next post I will tell you about long-term negative consequences of shallow, upper-chest breathing, as promised, that is, "God willing and the creeks don't rise." That's what my grandmother used to say whenever she made a promise to do something. Maybe grandma should have added "and if lightening don't strike" - but that's probably covered by the "God willing" part.
Loriman Rhodell
No comments:
Post a Comment