Streaming Services

There are so many different streaming services that one could go broke in subscription fees. If I just wanted to watch my favorite sports teams or sporting events I could end up spending an additional $100 per month -- one for Cardinals baseball, another for Blues hockey, and a few more for different MMA promotions. Fortunately, I'm not that tied to any sport that I feel like paying extra for the privilege of following a particular team. 

Nor am I a big TV watcher in general. 
Living in semi-rural SWMO cable TV isn't an option for us. Satellite service is expensive and I have found it to be unreliable. Our internet is T-Mobile's 5g service, which is the best affordable option I could find. Through it we get enough bandwidth to watch two TVs and operate our phones and my Chromebook. We have a paid streaming subscription to Netflix, Prime Video that comes with our Amazon Prime subscription, and we get HBO Max as a perk to our cell service. Roku gives us access to several other services and news, but we still don't have access to local news or programming. In the past we have had paid subscriptions to Peacock (NBC), Paramount+ (CBS), ESPN+, and maybe a movie channel or two. 
Although there are shows that I watch on TV, I think I could get along just fine without it.

I had considered renewing my subscription to Paramount+ this year when the UFC signed their multi-year contract with them, but I don't like the idea of supporting a network that is so willing to sell off its integrity to a corrupt administration. I don't think I can say I'm boycotting it since I wasn't a subscriber before they gave me a reason not to be one.
I guess I'm just too cheap to pay to watch TV.

The one subscription that I do indulge in is Kindle Unlimited. I know that I could get free e-books from a number of other sources (including our local library), but I enjoy the "free with subscription" library through Kindle Unlimited. At some point, I may give that up as well, or trade it for a subscription to something else. I'll probably read around 60 e-books this year and could easily find more than enough material without the subscription fee.

What are your necessary and indulgent streaming services and subscriptions?
I feel like ours are relatively few, but they still add up to a significant monthly dollar amount.

John

A Longer Summer -- I like it!

Just as Memorial Day is the unofficial beginning to summer in the US, Labor Day is its unofficial end. Due to a simple quirk of the calandar, this year Memorial Day fell on the earliest date and Labor Day will fall on its latest date. That gives us (unofficially) a few more days of the summer season!

I like it!

I will take as many summer days as I can get.
It does appear that this summer might be warmer and wetter than usual. We are getting an early glimpse of the wetter part as it looks like today will be another dreary and damp day here in the Ozarks of SWMO. I don't mind the gentle spring rains that we've been getting recently, but the severe weather is a different story. There has already been severe hail damage and flash flooding in our area during some late April/ early May storms, and the forecast looks like the summer may be full of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. 
I guess summer has its downside, too.

My morning coffee on the deck is a wonderful way to begin a summer day, even an unofficial summer day such as today. 

As I have been contemplating the personal therapy that regularly posting seems to provide me, I have been trying to envision what Out of My Hat will look like in the coming months. The end of July will mark 20 years that I've been publishing here and the blog has changed as much as I have.
And that's a good thing!
I'd like to write more often, but don't like that this has turned into a type of daily diary. I guess I will have to figure that out. I'd like to be writing about something or sharing something that is beneficial rather than posting about another day in the life of John.

Here's a little celestial trivia for you.
Did you know that the earth is slowing down during this part of its annual orbit?
Because of its elliptical orbit it will reach its greatest distance from the sun in early July (aphelion). This is the point at which the earth is travelling its slowest. As the earth gets closer to the sun, it travels faster. It takes several days more to get from the March equinox to the September equinox than it does from the September equinox to the March equinox. 
Science is cool.

Enjoy your longer summer (my northern hemisphere friends)!

John

Do you have a hobby?

Maybe I just think of a hobby as more than it is.
Is a hobby just something you do to bring you pleasure?
Is reading a hobby?
Is enjoying a cigar a hobby?
Or does a hobby need to be an activity?

If you were to ask me what my hobbies are, I would probably say that I don't have any hobbies.
And yet --
I do enjoy reading and have finished 27 books in the first five months of the year.

Enjoying a good cigar is more than just sitting and smoking.
I want to know my cigar. I want to know its origin. I want to taste the cigar and note the subtle changes during a smoke. I want to value the time that it takes to smoke a good cigar and honor the skilled craftsmen (or women) that rolled it. 
It's weird, but I find there is purpose to smoking a good cigar.

Maybe it is more like the practice of meditation, and less like a hobby.
I know -- it's not a healthy choice. 
That is something to consider.

Taking care of the yard and flower gardens is just something I do -- often a bit reluctantly and not very well.. I enjoy the results more than I enjoy the work that goes into it. The work part often feels like -- well, work! 
I suppose it is the closest thing to having a hobby that I can think of.

What are your hobbies?
What activities or projects have you made a regular part of your life and who you are?
Do hobbies serve a valuable function or are they overrated and unnecessary?

John

Five People

One of the blogs that I visit regularly made reference to this quote this weekend:

It got me thinking.
First of all -- I can't think of 5 people that I spend time with.
Secondly -- are authors, bloggers, social media connections counted in the people you spend time with? Same with phone contacts or text messages? Or news outlets?
And finally -- While I understand the thought, isn't this really just a bullshit thing that sounds nice or is there some real documented evidence of this?

Certainly, we are influenced by people that we are surrounded by and the stuff we read or listen to, but do we choose to surround ourselves with people and information that affirms who we are or that challenges who we are?
If we assume that this is a true statement -- Who are your five people, and do they make you a better person or a worse person than you are on your own?

Overall, I think I do a good job of shielding myself from toxic people. Most of the time I just stay away from all people. Yesterday, I actually went to church for the first time in a very long time. Today I will be going to a ballgame. 
But being out where people are isn't the same as being with people in a way that influences behavior. I suppose an exception should be made about church people, but that's not necessarily a good thing.

There is a line in the Bible that says -- Bad company corrupts good character. 
We should be careful about the people we choose as friends. 
Maybe we also need to think about why people would choose to include  or exclude us from their friend circle.

John

#ThingsthatmakeyougoHmmm

It's Friday! (but that's not a big deal for a retired guy)

It's coffee on the front porch this morning. It's cool and overcast and I am wondering what I might accomplish today. I don't think I'll get much done in the way of yard work/gardening today, but I do need to replant some nursery garden plants into their containers for my container garden experiment.
I also have some large flower pots that I need to get filled, and a few succulents that need re-potted.

While I do enjoy messing with plants --  especially flowers, I have to admit that my limited knowledge of gardening can be frustrating. One would think that the vast amount of information that is available would be an advantage to an amateur gardener, but there is so much conflicting information and everyone is a self-proclaimed expert with an opinion. Research can be time consuming and frustrating.
Gardening isn't supposed to be frustrating.

I am also disappointed in the poor base of the gravel portion of our driveway as grass and weeds growing through the gravel have been a constant issue. It is the one big complaint that I have with the construction of our home. I know that a concrete drive is expensive and I may look into the cost of an asphalt driveway. It's frustrating. Our home looks nice, but the driveway sucks.

I have almost finished my morning coffee and the battery on my Chromebook is getting low. I'll probably sit here for a little longer before I start procrastinating in earnest about the day's tasks. 
It's Friday and the beginning of a long weekend as we observe (not celebrate) Memorial Day.
I hope your day is a good one.

John

My Plans vs My Expectations

In a few hours, Chris and a friend will be on their way to visit the Colorado kids and I'll be left home alone for a week. In spite of the cool, rainy forecast, I hope to catch up on the gardening and unending yard work in which I seem to have fallen far behind already. 
I may go to barchurch tonight and I have a ticket for Monday evening's baseball game. I am not expecting any other people gatherings other than those encountered while running errands or something.
I may decide on a coffee shop morning at some point. Coffee and a little conversation might be a nice change. Hit me up if you're interested.

While I truly would like to get lots of work done, the cool, damp weather may end up being a convenient excuse for not doing much. Some days it is just difficult for me to get motivated to do much.
As with most readers, my reading list is longer than I can complete in a decade and still growing, so sitting with a book and a beverage is always an option. 

Even as I make the plans to work a bunch, my expectations are that I will work more than I might normally, but not accomplish near as much as planning John would like. In the end, I know that I will remain a happy boy. 
I do expect to fire up the smoker at some point. I have a new meat thermometer that I need to try and a pork butt that will be good for a test run. I may also throw a turkey breast on the smoker while I'm at it. 

Big plans, low expectations.
Slow mornings. 
Easy working afternoons.
Quiet evenings with a cigar and a beverage.
Just another day in the life of...

John.

Books (and upping my reading game)

I'm thinking about upping my reading game.
In 2002, the Norwegian Book Club compiled a list of the 100 best books of all time as voted on by 100 writers from 54 different countries. You can find The World Library List here.

I know that I have read some of these like 1984 or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in school, as well as several Shakespeare works and some of Poe's writings. I can't honestly say that I remember much about them. A number of these titles are on our book shelves or tucked away in boxes. I have to say that I find the list and the challenge to read these 100 books to be quite intimidating, especially the list of foreign titles.

Nevertheless, since I generally have more than one book going at a time, I plan to start checking some of these off -- even if it's just to say that I have or to sound more intellectual than I actually am.
I am about 85% of the way through my current non-fiction read, so maybe I'll be reading some Shakespeare over the holiday weekend.

What are you reading?

John 

Mind, Body, Spirit

I feel pretty good in two of the three -- mind and spirit.
That's not to say that they are completed projects. Like a garden, they need regular care and maintenance.

The body, however, is a wasteland of neglect. It's been fed crap and been sitting idle for far too long. My short bursts of activity are no substitute for regular exercise. Even a daily walk would be better than the nothing I have been doing.

Yesterday, I decided to combine the task of mowing with exercise and used the push mower to mow about half of the yard area near the house. I'm estimating it is about 1/2 to 2/3 of an acre. The plan is to finish it today.
I'm not going to lie -- I feel it this morning.

Wile it is true that some yard work/gardening is laborious and makes for good exercise, most of it is just activity. Activity is better than nothing, but I don't know that it is of great benefit to one's overall health and well being. Some time ago there was an old man that told me, "John, if I'd have known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself."

I would like to stick around and enjoy a long life, but I don't want to be miserable and unable to get around or be on a ton of medication.

While Monday Meditation tends to focus on the mind and spirit, today's thoughts are more about bringing the physical body along for the ride.
Reading and puzzle solving games are good mental exercises that I get on just about a daily basis.
Regular meditation and awareness of the life and nature that is around me and within me takes care of the spiritual stuff.
Unfortunately, I really don't do anything for the body.
That needs to change -- not just for today me, but also for future me. 

I recently read that without knowing it, we often hurt the person we should love the most by the decisions we make today. That person is our future self.
Hmmm...
That's probably worth thinking about.

John

Retirement does not suck -- or does it?

I've had a few conversations with soon-to-be retirees, and a few questions and comments about how I have adjusted to retired life. I found this article to be an interesting one, although I'm not sure that it applies to me in a significant way.  

While I very much enjoyed my career as an air traffic controller, I don't think that I ever really made that my identity. The same can be said about being an evangelist, except I would say that my identity was more tied to that than to the full-time gig.
I also very much enjoyed the magic hobby while never really identifying as a magician.

Oddly enough, perhaps the common thing of the three is teaching. 
I don't think I would do well as a classroom teacher where students are forced to be there. College level courses that students choose might be different. 
I think preaching and teaching have many similarities and the magic was really just a tool I used in sharing lessons from the bible.
I think I would still enjoy sharing information in a similar way, but it isn't something that is a part of how I see myself or necessary for my well being.

I think I am mostly quiet because most people aren't really listening and talking is just a waste of time. People want to hear themselves speak. They don't really want to listen. Some people will engage in conversation by asking questions and then interrupt your answer to continue to dominate the conversation. 

I am glad that I truly enjoy my retirement. I'm happy that the transition was an easy one for me. I can certainly see how it might be more difficult for others of my generation.

Perhaps the most striking statement from the article is -- "The CDC, incidentally, reports that men over sixty-five have the highest suicide rate of any demographic in the United States."
If you are nearing retirement or already facing the breakdown of losing your purpose or identity, maybe it is time to reach out for some help.

Personally, I'm content with the old, retired guy identity.

John

Thursday Theology

I've been thinking (WARNING!!!),
Does it really matter what I think about (or if I think about) God?

I recently saw an illustration that showed if our sun was the size of a single red blood cell, our galaxy (the Milky Way) would be the size of the United States of America!
Our Milky Way Galaxy is just one of around 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe.

I mention the grand size of the universe to justify my thought that the Creator of all of this probably doesn't care what John thinks about God (or about anything else, for that matter).
However, I do think that what John thinks about God matters to John and to the people with whom John interacts.

A God big enough and powerful enough to create such a grand universe is too far outside of my understanding capability. 
Having said that, I feel that it is important to note that I do believe in the existence of a Creator, and God works out to be an accepted name for this Creator. In all honesty, I'm still trying to work out how the person of Jesus works into the whole picture. It is contradictory to say that we are too insignificant for God to take note of us and then also believe that this same God would personally visit us to set us on the right path of how we are to live and love throughout our insignificant lives.

From observing nature from its simplest parts to the vastness of the universe, I have deduced that our Creator loves harmony. From the instinct driven societies of ants to the trillions of complex galaxies that exist, there seems to be both chaos and order and yet both exist in a harmonic dance that defies understanding.
While nature tends to create things in order, it also devolves into chaos.
It's the circle of life. (cue The Lion King music)

Some life circles are relatively short and small. In the case of our sun, it is a bit longer -- about 10 billion years.
My point here is that I really can't begin to comprehend eternity. I need to keep things at a level that I can understand. I understand that I can be a decent person today, or I can be a jerk. I think I have spent more than my share of time being a jerk, so maybe I'll try being kind today. 
It is a little weird that a one time Southern Baptist evangelist no longer cares about eternal life but instead believes that he (I) needs to focus on the actual life being lived. It's also weird that the teachings of Jesus are more about living life than about what comes next.
Hmmm...?

John