Reading and Writing in 2021 and '22

Friday, December 31, 2021.
It's time to say goodbye to '21 and usher in a new year.

This is my 217th post at Out of My Hat this year. That's the most I've ever posted in a single year. I guess that's what isolating from a pandemic will get you. I think the majority were just posting memes for Monday Motivation or Wednesday Wisdom. The rest were mostly meaningless drivel that runs through my head from time to time.

I read a lot more in 2021. My Kindle app says I've read for 130 consecutive days, 55 consecutive weeks. I finished 50 books on the app plus a number of actual books from the library or other sources -- around 70 total for the year. 
I'm going to try to keep better track of the off-app books I'm reading this year and will try to post more in the way of reviews and recommendations. I don't typically do book club or small group book reads, but I'm beginning 2022 with a group read of Profit and Punishment: How America Criminalizes the Poor in the Name of Justice by Tony Messenger.

One of the things that has been on my mind is to be more involved in righting social injustices. So far, I've only been involved in volunteering as a way of response to social needs, but haven't done anything to address what is causing the need. The quote that has been shared often recently from Desmond Tutu is a favorite of mine and speaks to this need -- " There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in."
The timing of this read by a local book club is perfect for getting me started on this track for 2022.

I have quite a lineup of books to read on the Kindle app and have stopped adding free reads and cheap reads to the already formidable stack. Most of them are fiction and I usually have at least one non-fiction book that I am reading along with whatever fiction book I'm cruising through.
I'd be interested to hear your non-fiction recommendations. 

The US falls pretty low on the list of countries in the average time reading per capita. This reading includes news stories and online reading as well as books and magazines. India tops the list at 10 hours and 42 minutes per week. The US is 22nd at nearly half that -- 5 hours, 42 minutes per week.
A 2016 study showed that Americans read on average (mean) 12 books per year, while the typical American (median) reads just 4 books in a year.

I'm guessing that Americans get more of their stories from movies and TV series than they do from reading. I've never been a big movie goer and I don't watch much TV. I do tend to read much more than I used to.

Where do you fall on the reading scale?
Do you prefer to read news or watch news?
Do you prefer to read stories (books) or watch stories (TV shows and movies)?
Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction? Or a mixture of both?
What are your 2022 reading plans?

John

Wednesday Wisdom

 

December Sunrise, Climate Change, Pandemic Effects

It's a little weird to be sitting on my deck as the sun rises on this, the 27th day of December. Yeah, it's cool enough that I'm wearing a sweater, but it is 60f (15c) at the end of December in the Ozarks. While I understand the negative and disastrous effects of climate change, I have to admit that I am a fan of warmer winters.
Recently I was reading some stats on Covid. Here in the US we have become so used to people ignoring the science of vaccination and prevention and dying of Covid that the current 7-day average (in the US) of one person dying every minute of every day isn't even newsworthy anymore.  There have been more than 4.26 million deaths worldwide from Covid so far and the actual numbers are assumed to be higher due to poor counting in many countries early in the pandemic. Deaths are expected to reach Five million in the coming months. The practical John wonders if there is a positive side to so many (seemingly) senseless deaths. 

Numerically, five million fewer people on the planet is pretty insignificant. The restricted international travel and people working from home instead of commuting to and from work probably plays a greater role in reducing carbon impact on the environment. I suspect the travel part is returning to near pre-pandemic rates, but I think that remote working is here to stay. Hooray for technology!
Maybe more adaptations using technology and practical sense can reverse some of the damage we've done to the environment before it's too late. Maybe not.

Just some weird thoughts as I enjoy my coffee and the sunshine this December morning.

John

What's Next?

It's the final week of 2021 and 2022 is just around the fast approaching corner. I suppose this should be a time of reflection and consideration of the past year, but I think I'll just put it behind me and look ahead. I wonder what 2022 will hold for me in particular and for all of us in general.

At the moment, I don't really have much in the way of plans or goals. I do want to have a better garden than last year and have plans to get an earlier start on the planting. I'm thinking that flower gardening and landscaping will be as big (if not bigger) of a project as the vegetable garden. 

My motorcycle has been parked in the garage for all of 2021. I really need to get back to riding. There is a part of my thinking that says riding to be riding is a bit of a waste -- a waste of resources and a waste of time. It doesn't cost or use anything to sit on the deck and read, or to do a little work in the yard -- and I enjoy both of those things. I need to get back to using the bike as my main means of transportation and just ride whenever I need to be out. I also need to plan a round about trip to Colorado Springs -- maybe OKC, Amarillo, Albuquerque, CO Springs, and something equally round about for the trip home. I might need to upgrade the bike for the mountains. Just thinking for now.

I'm not really making any life changing plans nor resolutions for the coming year; just more of the same movement towards a more healthy and less consuming life. I like traveling, but am also happy staying home. I'm thinking about cutting back on the cigars a bit. I seldom smoke more than one in a day and don't smoke one everyday. There is something contemplative and relaxing about cigar smoking. It's like everything stops for an hour or so while you just enjoy a simple pleasure. But it certainly doesn't make it on the healthy living side of life's habits, so...

I feel like a bit of a slacker by not having any goals for the year. If I come up with something in the next few days, I'll be sure to let you know. If not -- well, I'm okay with that.

How about you?
Any plans, goals, resolutions for 2022?

John

Christmas Day, 2021

It seems weird to be sitting on the deck this afternoon. The thermometer next to me shows the temperature at 74f (23c), which is a little warmer than the app for local weather on my phone shows (67f). Chris is working on her homemade dumplings for our evening chicken and dumplings Christmas dinner.

Christmas is different this year. Our kids are both away and celebrating on their own. We had a brief video call and opened a few presents with them this morning. Most of the day has been pretty much like any other day. Well, sort of.

Personally, Christmas is less about celebrating the birth of Jesus and more about reflecting on how the presence of Immanuel (God with us) has impacted humanity over the past 2000+ years and how the presence of God dictates my own thoughts, emotions, and behaviors from day to day.  I wonder what God thinks of the current celebrations -- both the secular, commercial, consumer driven celebrations and the Christian/Christian churches celebrations that bear little resemblance to the meek and simple beginning to the life of Jesus. 

It's been around four years since I bade farewell to religion in general and have been looking for a way to walk this journey in a way that honors God and shows what I believe to be true about God, Jesus, heaven, hell, and how we are to live with God and our fellow humans. Nearly half of that time has been during a pandemic and has both allowed me the time to contemplate and showed me sides of humanity that I had forgotten existed. Some are beautiful. Some are quite ugly. I'm sure that I exhibit some of each, myself.

All-in-all, I think the practice of celebrating a religious event that happened a couple of thousand years ago is semi-senseless. I would much rather see us learning to love each other a little bit like the Christ of Christmas teaches rather than the annual pageantry in churches and Santa parades and greenery decorating everything from homes, to businesses, to the downtown streets of cities and towns across the land. 
I don't mean to be a Scrooge. I'm just trying to be more practical and contemplative about what motivates us to be joyful and generous to a few more people for a few weeks at the end of each year.

I do wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. However you celebrate the season, and for whatever reasons you celebrate -- be joyous, generous, and kind for a few days. Maybe we can all choose to be kind for a few days longer this time around.

John

Merry Christmas to Me!

I am giving myself a Christmas present this year.
In the coming days I will be cleansing my social media accounts and resetting my security settings. My Twitter and IG accounts have a bunch of bot followers. Facebook isn't too bad, so I may leave it alone for now.
I also have several celebrity accounts that I follow that I'll probably drop. Some are doing and posting some cool things and I'll continue to follow them. Most are just posting the same kind of BS as the rest of us and I can do without it.

It's windy and warm here in the Ozarks of SWMO on this Christmas Eve. I may have to spend some quality time on the deck with a cigar and a book this afternoon. 70f (21c) isn't bad for the fourth day of winter (except for that whole climate change thing). 

What are you doing for yourself this holiday season?

John

When Everything's on Fire: Faith forged from the ashes

When Everything's on Fire: Faith forged from the ashes by Brian Zahnd is a book that every follower of Jesus needs to read. It isn't just for those that have gone through (or are going through) a recent deconstruction of their beliefs. It is for everyone. We all need to critically examine our personal faith from time to time.

All too often, deconstructionists tend to throw out the baby with the bathwater. I'm one of those that has come to accept the term "deconstruction" while not really liking it. I've thought of my own work more as a remodeling job. Sure--some parts of my faith practice had to be torn down, but the beauty is in what is being rebuilt in its place.

When Everything's on Fire isn't a how-to book on deconstruction. If anything, it's more of a cautionary warning of where things can go wrong. It very much encourages you to examine what is at the core of your faith before throwing it all out. In all honesty, many Christians need to throw it all out since their faith is more centered around church, tradition, or even a particular pastor rather than being centered on Christ. 

I have followed Zahnd on social media for a while. This is only the second of his books that I've read. Although we have much in common, he challenges me -- not only in what I believe, but in finding out why I believe it. Earlier I wrote that every follower of Jesus needs to read this book. I'd expand that to say that every person of faith -- any faith (even atheism) needs to read it. 
Challenging what we believe and why we believe it should be standard practice for every critically thinking person. 

I'm off to the library today. I need to return this copy. I have a feeling that I might be purchasing my own copy in the future. Maybe not. Not preaching/teaching anymore has its advantages. One of them is a lesser need of marking up books for messages. The public library is working out well and our already overcrowded bookshelves are grateful.

What are you reading?
I'm also on Book 3 of some dystopian humanity series and slowly making my way through a deeply science and physics book on creation, the universe, and the end of time.
It looks like I'll end the year at around 70 books read -- a mere slacker compared to my sister and many of my more prolific reading friends.

John

Wednesday Wisdom

 

Winter

At 9:58 AM CST the sun will reach the Tropic of Capricorn on its southward journey and then begin its way back north towards the Tropic of Cancer. Daylight hours will begin to lengthen in the Northern Hemisphere and shorten in the land Down Under.

I wonder why our year doesn't coincide with an annual solar event.
It seems to me that the year should begin or end on an annual solar or astronomic event. Why don't we begin the year on the December Solstice? 
Who decided to just pick a day--say around 10 days later--to begin the calendar year?
Why not wait a few days later when the Earth reaches perihelion--its closest to the sun point in its annual orbit?
That day should always be "Sun"day and should always be January 1st. That would mean that every holiday and every calendar date would always fall on the same day of the week. That would certainly make long range planning easier.

Just some silly thoughts that roll around in my head from time to time.
In any case, I'm always good with a little more sunshine.

Happy Solstice Day!

John

It Doesn't Feel Like Christmas

It doesn't feel like Christmas this year. The truth is -- I seem to have become somewhat of a Scrooge over the years. Maybe it's not having kids home for the holidays. Maybe it's a subtle feeling that Christmas has become a way for people to claim they are Christians in a big way for a season while they ignore everything their Christ teaches the rest of the year. 
I don't know. It just doesn't feel joyous or festive any more.

In an uncharacteristic move, I bought a Santa hat. I thought maybe it would help move me along toward being in a festive, holiday spirit. 

Maybe I'll throw on a Christmas tie for barchurch tonight!
Chris has started putting up some decorations. Maybe that will help. 
The tree, some presents, maybe a little bourbon and egg nog will help.
Somehow those things seem to be a pretty poor substitute for peace on earth and men of goodwill.

sigh

Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to get me into the Christmas spirit.
Share a story that shows that there is still peace, joy, and love in the world.
Or you can buy me a present or meet me for coffee or something with its own "spirits."
You have nine days.

Ready....
Go!

John

It's Quiet Here

Quiet.
I never really noticed just how quiet our house is. And it's spacious -- not spacious as in big and spread out, but spacious as in open and plenty of room for the two of us. Even the sound of the traffic from the highway not far away is muted.

Maybe it takes traveling and getting away from the peace and comfort of home to really appreciate it. I really did enjoy our time with the kids in Puerto Vallarta. I enjoyed being close enough to walk everywhere we needed to go -- beach, restaurants, grocery store, laundry, shopping--all within 6-700m (less than a half mile).
It's hard to think that in the distance it takes us to walk the length of our rural country drive past the twenty homes that line both sides and back home, they can walk to spend an evening on the beach, then go to their favorite brewery for drinks and dinner, and stop at the store on their way back home. They'll pass numerous hotels, restaurants, businesses, shops, and homes, and encounter hundreds of tourists, local residents, and business owners. They'll experience the sights and smells of the restaurants as they weave through the seating set up on the sidewalks or make their way past the line of people waiting to get a taco at Pancho's Takos (definitely worth the wait!). Oh, and don't forget the ocean!
On our quiet street, we might encounter a neighbor or two as we stroll along, and we are more likely to hear a distant coyote pack or the cry of a circling hawk than we are to hear taxis beeping, music playing, or other people in conversation.

I like traveling.
And I certainly love visiting our kids.
But coming home is nice, too.
It is simple, but it is more than enough.
It's home.

John

Home

It was well past midnight when we pulled into our driveway last night, and around 1:30 AM before I laid down to sleep. I slept well and late, getting up around 9:30 or so. Although it was sunny out, the 40 degree temp was enough to keep me indoors this morning. 

I want to share some of the thoughts that are in my head this morning, but I also want time to process and organize them a bit more. There are so many cultural differences (both subtle and obvious) between life in the Midwest and life in Mexico. Some of it was as much about city life vs rural life as it was about national culture, and some of it had to do with infrastructure and economy. It is difficult to process it all and write well about it.
I think I'll give myself some time on that. 

Today, I'm just going to enjoy being home and in my house and my space.
And I may think about where we might go on our next journey.

John

Last Day

Today is our full day here in Puerto Vallarta. That means we'll be getting our mandatory day before departure COVID tests this morning. Interesting that the US government puts off the responsibility for checking this on the airlines, and "What about my rights?"
Really it's not that big of a deal and although we have to pay for the tests, I've seen it suggested to submit the receipts to our insurance for reimbursement. We may try that.

Puerto Vallarta has a mask mandate. All shops, stores, restaurants, bars, etc., require employees and customers to wear them. You wear them to your tables at restaurants and bars and anytime you get up from your tables. There doesn't seem to be much resistance to it from anyone. It's just the way of life. 
Too bad we're not as progressive about stopping the spread of COVID in the US. Chances are high that we will top 800,000 COVID related deaths before the year ends. Most of them have been avoidable, simply by masking, following safety protocols, and getting vaccinated.

Here in PV, it is the kids' standard practice to breakfast and lunch at home and eat out for dinner. That works pretty well as there are plenty of inexpensive local places to dine out. However, it looks like we'll be dining in tonight at Chris's suggestion. Jenny has requested that I make some -- wait for it -- fried rice.
Fried rice is almost a staple in our household. Others in my family make it, too. Although, I'm not sure anyone else has it as frequently as we do. We'll need to make a store run today. The kids are well stocked on rice, but we will need to pick up some other stuff to put it all together. 
Tomorrow we head back to our SWMO home and our simple, retired life in the Ozarks. I'm sure the kids will be happy to have their home to themselves again. And it will be nice to be back to our routine, as well. 

John

Cool Morning

It's a little weird how easily we adjust to the temperature and climate of an area. I'm sitting in front of the kids' apartment with a long sleeved shirt on this morning because it feels a little cool. It's 64f (17c). If I were at home, I'd probably say it was warm and be in a t-shirt. It will be 89-90 (32c) before the day is over.
As I people watch from the balcony, I see locals wearing jackets or sweatshirts as they walk past and tourists in shorts and t-shirts. I generally have a pretty wide comfort zone and am comfortable in most any moderate temperature. It's weird that I think it's cool this morning.

We only have a couple of days left before returning home. It is great to see how well the kids are adapting to their new home and know that they are making friends and building their own community of people. They are definitely here for the long haul. I am sure they'll be happy to be able to get back to their new routine of life when we leave. 
Temps back home have been pretty nice for December and, other than a couple of days, it looks like that will continue into next week. Hopefully I'll be able to finish my deck project of closing it in to be comfortably usable through the winter months. 

Although I have checked my social media accounts from time to time this week, I have been a bit disconnected from the news. I feel pretty good about that. Maybe I'll try doing the same when we are back at home.

All-in-all, I have to say that 2021 has been a decent year and I have a pretty good life. We'll be home alone for the holidays, but that's okay. We know that our kids and their spouses are doing well and living their lives in the places that they have dreamed of living -- Aaron and Jenny in Puerto Vallarta and Hannah and Daniel in the mountains of Colorado.

I hope today finds you well, happy, and at peace in the world.

John

Wednesday Wisdom

 

Simple Life

It was an interesting and educational weekend.
Saturday morning we took the four hour drive to Tepic in Nayarit. This is where Aaron worked in the spring of 2020. We met his boss and coworkers at the office where they cup and grade the coffee that comes in from the different coffee growing associations around the area. They showed us the some of the work they are developing to help the coffee growers with natural pesticides and new plants. 

These are new plants (about 3000 of them) that will be planted in the fields on the mountains surrounding Tepic. 
The drive to the coffee fields took a little over an hour. Much of the trip was on winding , rocky, mountains roads. It was slow going and dusty. The fields are on mountains and really not accessible to any kind of machinery for harvesting. The coffee cherries are all picked by hand as they reach the proper ripeness. These green cherries won't be ready for picking until spring.

Then we drove to one of the mills where the coffee cherries are brought to have the beans separated from the fruit and sun dried on large concrete patios. The patio at the mill we visited will hold about 3 tons of dried beans. 
Some of the coffee associations are farther out and higher up and bring there ripe cherries in and dried, green beans out on pack animals. It is absolutely amazing that I can buy a pound of good coffee for less than $15 US! 

The agricultural fields are interesting as the are used for multiple crops at the same time. Banana plants grow next to coffee plants, orange trees, and avocado trees. Each fruit is harvested in its due time, and all are harvested by hand. The farmers and workers live a simple, but hard life. 
Personally, I would probably gain much from living more simply and a little less privileged.

We spent the night at the Hotel Real de Don Juan across from the Governor's mansion. It is a beautiful and old hotel and the views from our room were spectacular. I'm sorry that I am not more of a shutterbug. Although I often look and appreciate the sights as I see them, I seldom take pictures to remember or share. My bad.

Yesterday we took a slow boat in a river through a crocodile preserve. We saw several crocs along the river and more in the zoo/breeding area. The river was fed from mountain springs and was beautiful. 
We visited San Blas, the old fort there, and then had a leisurely lunch on the beach on the way home. 
It was a lot of car time for a weekend trip, but it was very enjoyable and probably not the kind of sightseeing that most US tourists get to do. 

I'll try to share some of the pics that Chris or Jenny took. You'll have to check my Facebook or Instagram pages in the coming days.

John

Interesting side note: This past weekend was an election weekend in Nayarit (special election of some sort). Elections are held on weekends and the entire state is dry (that's right - don't drink and vote. Just vote!) during election weekend.

Books

I just finished reading Daylight by David Baldacci. It turns out that this is book three in a series. It was good enough that I should probably look for books one and two when I take it back to the library. 

It was good as a stand alone read as far as not needing the prequels to understand what's happening, but it definitely leaves you kind of hanging at the end and knowing there must be another book in the series. As a matter of fact, it was that unresolved ending that led me to investigate into whether or not it was a series. 

Long Road to Mercy and Minute to Midnight are books one and two. Book four is Mercy.
Mercy is the name of FBI Special Agent Atlee Pine's twin sister that she hasn't seen since they were six. In Daylight, Agent Pine is taking leave from her duties in the FBI to track down some of the clues she's discovered in her search for the truth about what happened that night when she was nearly killed and her sister disappeared. I'm a little more interested in moving on to book 4 than I am in reading the back story to what I already know. I guess I'll see what's available at the library when I return home next week.

For now I'm on to a new fiction series, The Humanity Series by Seth Rain. It's a 5 book dystopian series that was stored on my Kindle app and seems like a good way to spend time by the pool on on the beach.
My current non-fiction reads are Until the End of Time by Brian Green and The Abs Diet by David Zinczenko. 
Until the End of Time is a lot of science for me and I'm pretty much reading it in small bits. It's subtitle is Mind, Matter and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe. Reading it in chapters or even in smaller parts of chapters works well for my uneducated brain. I can only absorb so much at a time. 
The Abs Diet is a re-read that helped me in the past and will hopefully help me again as I work toward better physical health as we head into 2022.

What are you reading?

John

It's a Numeric Life

 This is the kind of thing our old friend from It's a Numeric Life might have posted.

I miss her blog.

John

December

I'm sitting in the same place as I was yesterday morning and thinking it's a little weird to hear a rooster crowing in a very urban, heavy traffic (both cars and pedestrians) area, and yet he is proudly announcing the presence of the morning.
The sun rises a little bit later on the western side of the mountains, but there is already much activity in the busy little port community of Puerto Vallarta. 
Most of the time I'm just watching the people make their way into town. Early, most are locals heading into work (my guess). Later the tourists (most tourists are obviously tourists) making their way into the business district for shopping, a day at the beach, breakfast, or an all day excursion of some type. 

A cruise ship is entering the bay. It's about the same time as the one that came in yesterday morning. I imagine the city is happy to have the money from the cruise ship industry flowing back into the local economy. 
I think we are going to do a beach day today. We'll find a local beachside cafe or restaurant and set up to enjoy the afternoon with occasional drinks and food. I'll have my books and phone to pass the time as well as taking time to walk along the beach and wade into the ocean. Temps are forecast for the mid 80s (29c). I like the December temps in the tropics. It's still very green and the flowers are still blooming. We spent yesterday by the pool and will be on the beach today.

Did I mention that I think I could do this?

John

I Could Do This

This is my view as I write on this last day of November.

I am looking out over the bay from the front porch of my kids' apartment in Puerto Vallarta. We arrived late yesterday afternoon, took a few moments to get settled, and walked into the commercial district for dinner and an evening walk on the pier, along the beach, and through the city.
It is a bit of an uphill climb to get to the apartment. It's a climb just to get up from the road in front of their place plus the uphill walk from the ocean.

Although the view is beautiful, there is a pretty busy road that passes right in front of me and the traffic noise detracts from the serenity of the setting. Nevertheless, watching the fishing boats set out from the bay in the morning is something I could easily get used to. 
Living in Mexico (Zihautanejo would be my city of choice) has been a desire of mine for quite some time. I am really happy to see the kids living their dream and being here now.  We'll be sharing their space and enjoying the tropical climate for the next few days. 

#Retirementdoesnotsuck

John

P.S. This completes another successful NaBloPoMo. Thanks for enduring my daily and often nonsensical posts.

Monday Motivation

 

Travel Day

Well sort of...
It's more like a pre-travel day.
We decided to drive to Bentonville AR today and overnight in a hotel rather than getting up very early tomorrow and driving then. We can leave our car at the hotel and take the airport shuttle. The cost of the hotel is about the same as the long term parking would be and we have less stress and a much easier travel day on Monday. And Groucho the cat gets an extra day of being spoiled by her cat-sitter/house sitter.

It has been so long since we've traveled anywhere!
We did make a short trip to Orlando almost two years ago. That may be the only real travel in about four years! I'm hoping that we can do much more traveling in the coming year -- coronavirus and its variants be damned!
I really didn't ride my motorcycle at all in 2021. I'm not sure why. I just didn't. I'm thinking 2022 will be different and I need to plan a few long rides. I can ride to see the kids in Colorado Springs. Chris would rather fly. I'll ride and meet her there.
The same for our Canadian friends, although it's a much longer ride! It's about 2100 miles to Hallifax, Nova Scotia and around 1000 miles to Georgian Bay in Ontario. Both would be great bike rides, but I'd need to find a couple of MLB cities and games along the way for the multiple day trips. If I stay south of the Great Lakes on the way to Nova Scotia I can pick up Ohio and Pennsylvania -- two states that I missed on my last bike trip east. And they have baseball teams, so...

Anyway, it is good to think about traveling again. I hope it works out in 2022.
I am looking forward to walking into the Pacific this week. It has been too long. 

A tropical beach
A tropical drink
A tropical cigar

A slice of heaven on earth

John

New Tech Toy for the Computer Illiterate Old Guy

This is the first Out of My Hat post on my new laptop! It's weird getting used to using the cursor and clicking instead of just touching the screen. The original keyboard to my 2 in 1 had the mouse pad and cursor, but the replacement Bluetooth one that I had been using for a couple of years didn't. Until I get used to this, I'll have a bunch of fingerprints on my screen.

I don't think I've owned a PC since Windows 3.1. I think it had a Pentium processor!
I've had a number of laptops, both larger and minis. The last few have been Chromebooks, which work well for me since most of what I do online is through Google or Google apps. 
To give you an idea of the dinosaur that I am, this is the first full sized laptop I've owned that doesn't have a built-in DVD drive! It is very lightweight and sleek looking compared to my old HP or Compaq computers. The external DVD drive that I used for one of my minis is so old that I doubt it would be compatible with this model. And I guess DVD technology is so far in the past anyway. Most of those things are now streamed rather than stored on discs.

I suppose it is a good thing that I am not so reliant on technology. I'm happy with a cheap laptop, slow wifi, a good cigar and an adult beverage. Actually, you could probably replace the cheap laptop and slow wifi with a good book and a plain old radio with a classic rock station and I'd be just as happy.
As with all of the technology stuff I've owned, I will greatly under utilize its simple capabilities and enjoy it, nonetheless.

John

My Black Friday Deal

I am not the Black Friday kind of shopper. I'll be camped out safely in my home while others are flooding the stores looking for "door buster" deals. I'm not even venturing out for a coffee shop cup of coffee or afternoon craft beer.

Sometime today I will be receiving a package from a pre-Black Friday deal. I took advantage of the sales to buy myself a new laptop. This may be the last blog that I type on my current rigged 2 in 1 tablet and keyboard. The keyboard part of it stopped functioning long ago and has been replaced with a Bluetooth connected keyboard and the whole thing is mounted in an old, generic tablet keyboard folder that I repurposed. It's been a long time since I owned a large sized (14.5") laptop. Even the last two laptops I've owned were of the 10" Chromebook size to make for easier portability and those go back to my working days almost seven years ago.

I'm sure that I'll keep this little gem, Maybe I'll ditch the additional keyboard and learn to use it more as a tablet. Maybe it will become my Kindle reader at home instead of always using my phone. Or maybe it will end up in an electronics recycle box with several other old computers.
Since I'm low tech and cheap, my new laptop is inexpensive and simple. I'll be getting it setup to suit me as best as a computer illiterate old guy can this afternoon/evening. Fun times ahead!

Any Black Friday shoppers among my readers?
Any great deals you've snagged for yourself or for a Christmas gift?
Any other "Bah! Humbug" on the whole Christmas shopping people like me?

John

Thanksgiving

It 's Thanksgiving Day in the US and I am thankful for so many things.
I feel like I should be writing something meaningful on this day or at the very least listing some of the traditional and expected things -- family, friends, home, etc., etc.

It's just not in me this morning.
I'm just going to enjoy the quiet of this morning, drink my coffee, and be thankful.

John

Wednesday Wisdom

 

Books

I finished reading How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion by David DeSteno. It was read due to the suggestion of fellow blogger and mentoring curmudgeon, Mike. 
I enjoyed the read as it was my kind of book. The science of how our brains work and respond to different stimuli fascinates me. This was particularly interesting as it examined ritual practices (both religious and non-religious) and their impact on our health and well being. Both the psychology and physiology of belief is pretty interesting. Community (religious or otherwise) is a pretty big deal when it comes to coping with life. 
I'm not sure how I feel about that. I always figured that community is the reason I need to cope with life!

I also finished the book Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrmann MD. It is good and has some worthwhile information. I'm not strictly following his diet plan, but I am using some of his eating philosophy and science as I move forward with my own lifestyle changes in diet, exercise, and healthier living.
I am currently re-reading The Abs Diet by David Zinczenko. It is the book I read when I began my last large weightloss journey over eight years ago. 

In the fiction category I am on book 3 of a three book modern day vampire series (Don't ask me why). It's weird, but entertaining and passes time in the evening. 
Although I have so many books queued up in my Kindle app, I picked up a David Baldacci book (Daylight) when I was at the library. I've never read anything from him, but have heard of him and he seems to put out a number of good books. If I like his writing, this could mean regular library visits are in my future.   

What are you reading?

John

Monday Motivation

 

Holidays Bring Joy, Sadness, and Stress

It is the Sunday before Thanksgiving in the US and small towns around the country have had their Christmas parades in the past few days. It is a kind of unofficial start to the holiday season.
It is so weird that the holidays can bring so much joy, some bitter sadness, and off the charts stress to so many people. I know that this 2022 holiday season will be the first without a loved one for some. For others it will be a different family dynamic due to divorce, rejection, geographic separation, or even deeply divided politics.

I don't know why I've been thinking about this. I just have. And I'm wondering how some of my friends are doing. Some will have new holiday traditions and new ways to celebrate; others will just be alone. Some will deal with old family stressors; others will have new ones.

If your holiday season is shaping up to be a rough one, consider reaching out and letting somebody know. If your in the Springfield MO area--give me a shout. We'll grab a beer or a coffee and chat for a bit. Sometimes life is hard. It's often less difficult if you can share it with somebody.

John 

Adios, Amigos!

It 's been two years or so since we have been on a tropical beach. The pandemic really hurt that area of the economy--at least for those of us that were being cautious about potential exposure. By the time our kids moved to Mexico last month, my passport was more than a year expired.

The government website said to expect 12-14 weeks for renewal or 10-12 weeks with expedited handling. I decided the two were close enough that I wasn't going to pay for expedited handling. 

You can imagine my surprise when this showed up in the mail on Thursday!

It had only been one month!
Because we were working around the house during the afternoon and I had barchurch in the evening, it took a whole 10 hours before I actually found and booked a flight for us to head for a tropical beach.

Now we just have to wait for the travel dates. 

Life's a beach!
John

Eclipse

It is just past midnight here in the Midwest US and the moon is just beginning its entrance into the penumbral shadow of the earth. To the naked eye, there isn't much to see until the moon enters the earth's umbra. That's when you can really see the shadow of the earth on the surface of the moon. It will be a couple of hours before that happens. That will peak a little after 3am here, then the shadow will grow smaller until it's gone near sunrise.

I'll be checking it out even though it is going to be a pretty frigid night. These kinds of astronomic events are just too hard to pass up.

John

Pogonophile

 A pogonophile is a lover of beards.
I don't think I fall into that category, but I do appreciate a nice beard.
I've never been patient enough to grow a good beard. Too much Asian genetics probably plays a role in the relatively slow growth of my facial hair. Pandemic isolation and plain old laziness when it comes to shaving has got my beard to the place where it looks like it may have some potential. I doubt I will ever be able to join a Viking revolution club, but with some proper grooming and a little time I may at least make a respectable showing.

John

Wednesday Wisdom

Running on Empty

Well it is just the first day of the second half of November and I am running out of things to write about for National Blog Posting Month. I'm looking at my coffee mug this morning and it reminded me that yesterday I was thinking of one weird thing that I miss about working -- stairs!

If you're also following my other blog, you know that I've been trying to get daily exercise. Before I retired I would often do the stairs on my breaks. It was 80 stair steps from ground level to the fifth floor where the elevator stopped. I always took the stairs up and rode the elevator down since going down stairs is hard on my knees. Six reps of that plus the twenty additional stairsteps to the sixth floor break room was an even 500 stairs and a decent bit of exercise several times a day.

It would be pretty handy to have easy access to some stairs like that, but definitely not worth going back to work! I'll manage with my exercise cycle, treadmill, and just plain walking. 
Sometimes I see social media memories of sunset or sunrise pics from the tower, and sometimes I think of watching thunderstorms rolling in from the tower. Those are about the only things that I miss about working. As it is, there are pretty good sunrises (although I'm rarely up to see them) and sunsets visible from our home, and the deck is a fine place from which I can enjoy a nice rainfall with a bit of thunder and lightning. 
All-in-all, the mug saying sums it up pretty well!

Tomorrow will probably be a lame Wednesday Wisdom meme. Thursday I'll need to figure something out or just decide that this whole National Blog Posting Month is lame and drop it. As it is, this will be my 184th post of the year, my third highest annual post count in my 15 years of blogging. 187 is second highest and 202 is the most I've posted in a year. 

See you tomorrow
...maybe.

John

Reach Out and Touch Someone

Do you remember when that was the slogan for AT&T? 
It was back when you had to pay extra to call outside of your local calling area. 

I've fallen short of my goal to reach out to 100 people in the last 100 days of the year. I was using texts, messenger, and emails for a time, but I think that getting no response or acknowledgement from so many has caused me to lose heart and set that project aside. But today I'm feeling a renewed sense of encouragement and wondering why I would let somebody else's actions deter my plan of being an encouragement to others.
I'm back!

How are you doing on reaching out to others?
Are you still going strong or have you (like me) slacked off?
Let's do this!
It's only 46 more days.

John

Why Are We Friends?

It's weird how friendships can be very strong for a season of life and then seemingly evaporate into nearly non-existence. The people I once worked with, joked with, conversed with, and shared several hours of life with on a daily basis I no longer see, hear from, or even think about except for occasional memories or posts that might pop up in a social media feed. Some of those co-workers transferred to other facilities, some retired before I did, and some are still working and it was my retirement that seems to have ended our common connection.

I really have no past church connections. I have had a few attempts at keeping in touch, but again, the commonality of a particular church or of how to practice our Christianity no longer exists so neither do our relationships.

Over the decades, I haven't kept in touch with any of my classmates that were once my buddies, my tribe during my youthful years. I am greatly pleased to have renewed a precious few of those old relationships in recent years. Our lives are very different, but we have some common roots, common memories, and shared life values.

For the most part, I still think of the people of my past with fond memories and would love to catch up on life over a coffee or beer. I think it's cool that our life paths intersected for a period of time and would like to know how things are on their current paths. Sometimes those path divergences were difficult ones and caused by difficult times or decisions. Other times they may have been joyous ones where everybody celebrated, cried, hugged, and wished each other well as we parted and one of us set off on a new journey.

I have a philosophy on friendships. Friendship aren't always reciprocal. Just because I consider you to be my friend doesn't mean that you have to consider me to be your friend. I'm sure there are people that I think of as friends that only think of me as an old acquaintance, and vice versa. It's just the way it is. Mutual friendships are definitely the best, but even those might only last for a particular season of life.

These are just thoughts in my head this morning.
If we have been friends in the past, chances are I still think of you as my friend. 
Just wanted you to know that.

John

Getting to know you

Tell me some thing about you that most people don't know.
This past Thursday night our barchurch pastor was absent as it was opening night for her daughter's high school musical, Footloose. Her daughter had the female lead.

That brought me back to the days of my own high school musicals. 
My junior year I played the role of Conrad Birdie in the musical Bye, Bye, Birdie. In our show, Conrad Birdie made his entrance to the auditorium on a motorcycle that was provided by a local dealer. The Kawasaki 125 had a tendency to die if it wasn't warmed up well. As the show began, I was out in the back parking lot riding the bike and just having fun. Then the stage manager comes running out screaming that I'm on! I killed the motor. He ran through the halls pushing the bike with me following. When we got to the auditorium doors, I sat down on the bike, combed my hair and there was my cue! The doors opened, I fired up the bike, and made my entrance right on time! 

Sure, people that have known me for most of my life know about my high school drama/chorus days. For most of my current friends and acquaintances, this is probably a surprise.

What's your "I bet you didn't know..." moment?

John

                                                                circa 1977

Slip Sliding Away

I've gotten off track.
Over the past month (maybe longer) I have really neglected to nurture and care for my contemplative time. I'm not sure how that happened. I just let it slip away.

Perhaps it would be more correct to say that I have let my meditative time slip away. I have spent plenty of time contemplating while listening to nature or smoking a cigar. I have not, however, been purposefully meditative for some time. Purposeful meditation has a way of helping to connect me to the universe around me. It connects me to God and all of God's creation. It keeps me centered, balanced, peaceful.

Many different faith practices work in the same way. Daily dedicated prayer time is a way of doing a similar connection to God. Some people use a personal kind of prayer time while others practice as a part of a ritual community prayer. Some (like me) are less about praying and more about just seeking a spiritual connection to the Creator, as well as to the creation. 

I picked up my mala yesterday. Maybe that is what clued me into the missing meditative time. It's a little weird because I don't typically use my mala beads during my meditation. They do, however, serve as a reminder that I am spiritually connected to the people and the world around me. I think that many Christians have a difficult time with this belief that we are all connected. Christians have been conditioned to believe that the Christ is only in other Christians and so we do not have a spiritual connection to non-believers. I no longer find that to be true. I find God (The Universal Christ) in all of creation. For so very long I limited the scope of Christ to the physical person of Jesus. Today I believe the scope and power of God through the identity of The Christ is much greater than Jesus of American Christianity. 
I'm going to spend some time reconnecting to that today.

How do you connect to God?
                                      the Universe?
                                      the people around you?

John

Camping

I'm 61. Camping is not my thing. We have been camping, but always been with more experienced campers. This was our first outing on our own as rookie campers. In spite of some minor problems, my overall assessment -- It wasn't bad.

First off -- November camping in Missouri is pretty much for hardcore campers and rookies. There were very few campers in a very large campground as water service throughout the grounds was off except for 1 bathroom/shower house and a few frost-free spigots to load holding tanks or containers. It was a beautiful setting and we may be back during warmer weather if we decided to continue this outdoor experiment.

Secondly -- While having a camper gives us the ability to travel to and see other areas, when it come to being outdoors and enjoying nature I do that most days from the comfort of my deck. We even sleep out here (yes, I am writing from the deck) many nights and a fully functioning bathroom is just steps away (more important to Chris than to me).

As I said -- It wasn't bad.
In the end, we will continue to venture out into the camping life if Chris decides that is what she wants to do. I am pretty easy about doing it or not. There is just a little mindset change in that camping is more work than what we have been accustomed to on our travels. It may be that we will haul our little camper to use as a place to breakfast, snack, and sleep, while making use of whatever local resources there are for dining out for lunch and dinner. We'll probably be back and making adjustments for a little while. Experience is a good teacher.
Only time will tell.

John

Wednesday Wisdom

"Life is like riding a bicycle.
To keep your balance, you must keep moving."
--Albert Einstein

Rural Life

We live in a rural environment. There is a gas station convenience store a mile away and a Dollar General at about 1.5 miles. Not far from the Dollar General is a little family owned burger shop that makes fried pies that are delicious. It's about 8 miles to the nearest franchise fast-food place, larger restaurant, supermarket, or other shops, stores, medical service, etc.
Compared to our friends that live in Ozark, Nixa, or Springfield we live out in the sticks.

Not so out here in the southeast part of Missouri. We past quite a few homes (rurally speaking) on our way from the camp to the nearest gas station and town with a hardware store yesterday -- almost 20 miles away! (That's 32km to the rest of the world.)

I know how crappy and expensive satellite internet can be (ask me how I know) and I also know that the majority of these people vote for politicians that are opposed to an infrastructure plan that would address that. 
Even though I enjoy many aspects of living out and away from people, I do enjoy a nice dinner out, shopping for groceries without needing to pack a lunch, and having nearby doctors and other services.

This area is about 2 hours drive from St. Louis and about 4 hours from Memphis. The homes we passed ranged from small, rundown cabins to large homes with large fenced and well cared for lawns. It's a hard life for many, and others seem to be doing quite well. I suppose it's not much different than anywhere else. In some ways it's almost foreign. In other ways, it's like any community of people--just more spread out.

It is a beautiful area of Missouri. Living in this rural area wouldn't be so bad for a retired guy. I don't know that I'd want to raise a family out here. I feel like there is much that my kids would be missing.
Being retired makes rural living a lot easier. I don't have the daily commute that some of my working neighbors have. I also can plan my trips to town around times when most people are working and avoid the peak times when stores and services are crowded.   

It seems a little counter productive to pack up our recycling items and then drive 15 miles to a collection site. I have to plan that around another necessary drive. We live. We adapt.
We have lived in small towns and big cities. We are currently in the most rural setting we've ever been. There is still some adaptation that is necessary, but change is necessary for growth.

Sixty-one and still growing (up).
John

Rookie campers

Our first day out was okay and we survived the 40 (4.4c) degree night.

I misunderstood the "water accessible" to mean that there would be a water hookup. All of the water at the camp sites is turned off as of Nov 1, and water for holding tanks or containers is available at several places throughout the park. Only one shower house/bathroom (maybe a half mile from us) in the park is open. No worries. We'll manage.

We had a little trouble getting the electric hooked up, but finally did. One downside is that there wasn't an input for the heater/ac unit and I didn't have the proper adapter. Fortunately we brought a space heater with us and that worked out well.

We had a nice dinner of a salad and macaroni & meat sauce.

We'll run a few errands today and do a little hiking.

All in all, not a bad first day. 

John

Hello, Darkness My Old Friend

The US is back on Standard Time and the sun sets early in the evening. Maybe I'll shift my bedtime by an hour so I don't miss the earlier hours of the daily allocation of natural lighting. Today's allotment is just 10 hours, 27 minutes of sunshine in SWMO and that will continue to decrease until the winter solstice.

People don't usually celebrate darkness. I don't know of any night owls that are happy at the extra minutes and hours of darkness that the season brings. For the most part, even the fall lovers will be bitching about the early sunset tonight and every night until spring. Well light a fire and pour a cup of pumpkin spiced whatever! This is what you love, right?

Maybe I'll shift my exercise time to the evening hours. I can walk in the sun during the day, but cycling or weight-machine stuff can wait until the early evening. Exercise is supposed to be a mood enhancer, so maybe that will hold off on the winter depression (SAD).

I'm working on enclosing the screened in deck so that I can use it throughout the winter. I'm a little concerned that it might become a mini-greenhouse, so I'm going to make removable panels for the sunnier days (and to vent the cigar smoke!). On the other hand, shorts and t-shirt in the greenhouse doesn't sound like a bad way to spend the winter. I'll work on making the most of whatever sunshine I can get.

If you are a Northern Hemisphere reader, how do you deal with the longer seasonal nights? What are your hacks for maintaining a healthy mood throughout the winter months?

John

Winter Settings for Older People

...Not for "old" people, for people like me--you know, older than young people, but not really old.
Anyway, it is time to set-up winter heat settings in the house and I'm finding last year's 67 (19.4c) degrees to feel a bit chilly this year. I'm hoping it's just that I haven't adjusted to fall temps yet and the same settings of 67 in the daytime and heat off at night will work again this year. 
Even on the coldest nights the temp in the house would only be around 60 (15c) by morning and that's where we had the programable thermostat of our last home set for nighttime sleeping.

We haven't had the heat on for the past few days, and have only used the furnace for a day or two so far this fall. The house was 63 (17.2c) at wake up and I used the gas fireplace to bring the main living area up to around 70 (21.1c). By the end of next week the furnace will probably be in daily use.

Maybe I'll lose enough weight and natural insulation by January that I'll need to reconsider our settings. I wouldn't mind a warmer setting for thinner people vs a warmer setting for "older" people.
Have I mentioned that I'm not a fan of fall/winter?
#readyforspring

John

TV

I don't watch much TV. I don't get into binge watching series after series of soap opera like stories. I have watched a few seasons of a few shows, but not many. It's interesting how some shows seem to have a cult-like following and the followers are overly enthusiastic, unpaid proselytizers recruiting friends, family, and freaking strangers to join their mind numbing cult -- "Oh My God! You've got to watch it! It's soooo good!"

Chris and I watched Goliath on Amazon Prime. The final season recently released after its year+ delay due to COVID. I watched The Man in the Tower (or something like that) for a season or two, but really couldn't keep up with it. 
There was a Jack Ryan series that was pretty good (two seasons, I think) and a story on witches that I started while working the overnight shelters last winter. When the overnights ended, I stopped watching.

Do you watch TV?
Do you binge watch series programs?
What is your go-to streaming service?
What are your must sees? 

Just curious.

John

What's Your Struggle?

We all seem to have a daily nemesis, something we struggle with on a regular basis. 
It might be doing too much, or doing too little.
It might be finding time for ourselves or finding the time to take care of everyone else.
It might be being alone or it might be being around too many people.
It might be struggling to be yourself, the person you feel you really are.
Or maybe it's struggling with yourself because you don't like the person you really are.

My current struggle is with better health.
I'd really like to get to a point where I don't have to think about it. I just practice good habits. I'm not there yet.
I know that I need to move more.
I know that I need to eat better (and less).
And I know that I have to think about it ALL THE TIME or I'm likely to make bad choices.

I'm working on it. If you follow my other blog Healthy Living (by an unhealthy guy)  you already know of my struggles. Writing about it helps me to stay focused. Sometimes that's all it takes to get started--writing it down, saying it out loud, recognizing the struggle and addressing it.
So...
What's your struggle?
Did you know that you can comment anonymously on this blog?
You can write your struggles and not leave your name. Seriously, sometimes that really helps.
And since I moderate all comments, you can share with me and ask that your comment not be published.
In any case, I want to encourage you as you face your daily struggles. I know how valuable a few words of encouragement can be.

Life is a journey.
We can help each other along the way.

John

Wednesday Wisdom

 And a little bit of humor

Have a great day!
John

Irony and the circle of life

Irony
I grew up in a small town. (Cue the John Mellencamp song in your head)
I didn't want to live in a small town so I moved away when I got the chance.
It's now forty years later and I bought a home a different small town.
Smh.

Do you have some of those weird ironical incidents in your life?
Do you do or say the things your parents said or did that you once swore you would never do?
Do tell.

John

Monday Motivation and NaBloPoMo Begins

November is here!
National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo)
It's also National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), but I won't be participating in that one.

This Monday meme works both ways.
If you want people to say kind things about you, be kind.

John

Reading Record

Well, this happened this week

Sixty seven consecutive days of reading on my Kindle. 
The 24 titles include an eight book series, two of seven books, and one of four books--each series counted as one title.. That adds 22 more books to make it 46 on Kindle plus the actual books read. 
I realize that I read very little compared to many avid readers, but this is a bit of a big deal to me. It has been a long time since I've been a regular reader. 

I read on different reader sites that many people still shun electronic readers for reading an actual book. I've become a big fan of the Kindle app on my phone and to a lesser degree, my tablet. I always have a book available if I find my self waiting somewhere -- yesterday while getting the oil changed, and again while waiting for my flu vaccine and covid booster, for example.
I don't have to weigh down a suitcase with vacation reading. The books are on my phone.
I do utilize the library, and enjoy buying and owning books. I regularly read both types of media.

I have noticed that I'm getting fewer great deals for books on Kindle and the cost of offers seems to be going up. I do have a few other sources for free books and low cost e-books.
I hope you are reading.

John

So--About that job thing

I didn't get it.
I went to interview for the position of Overnight Monitor at a cold weather shelter for our otherwise unsheltered friends. I served as a volunteer at a shelter last winter. Each night the shelter is staffed with a paid staff person and an all night volunteer, along with a couple of other volunteers that help with set-up, sign in, and getting things settled before they leave for the night.

I had some great recommendations from friends that serve in the unsheltered community, but...
One of the things I mentioned in the interview was that I was applying to fill the need, not because I needed a job, nor the money. I told them that if there was a qualified applicant that needed the job to pay bills and live on, they should consider hiring them over me. I told them I'd still volunteer and serve as needed.
And that's what happened. When the pastor of the host church called me back, she told me that a qualified applicant did really need the money the job would provide and they were going to hire her. I'm cool with that. The pastor seemed a bit apologetic in telling me, but was also grateful to be able to offer the job to somebody that would benefit from it.

So it looks like I will remain a full-time retired person and grumpy curmudgeon in training.
So -- GET OFF MY LAWN!!!

John

"Job Interview" was not on my retirement bingo card!

Nope, I didn't see this one coming.
I have an interview for a part-time, seasonal position today.
It kind of blows my mind. I'll let you know how it goes as I expect that I'll hear one way or another pretty quickly.

I feel a little weird writing about it beforehand, but just got the e-mail last night and confirmed the appointment this morning.
And it feels really weird having a job interview. It's been a minute or two since my last one.
Expect more about this in the coming days.

John

Monday Motivation

 

Between Books

I'm sort of between books right now. I'm reading a book--it's fiction, but it's really just to keep me occupied until my next non-fiction book makes it to my local library. I also have a non-fiction book on Tai Chi Chaun that I've been working through for some time (it's like 1000 pages!).
And I might read a couple of passages from the Tao te Ching or a chapter from the Bible on a pretty regular basis (both are on the end table).

What are you reading?
Do you have a preference between fiction or non-fiction?
What's you go-to genre for fiction?
                                   ...for non-fiction?
Is there a book that you always recommend?
Why?

Just wondering.

John

It's Coming & I'm Looking for Ideas

I just realized that National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) begins in just ten days. November is where bloggers that don't post on the daily are encouraged to do so for the entire month. Since Out of My Hat isn't a themed blog that posts on a specific topic, I pretty much just write and post as my inner spirit moves me. Although I've participated in NaBloPoMo for several years, posting every day without something to guide me is a challenge. 
Sure--I can fill Mondays with Monday Motivation memes and Wednesdays with Wednesday Wisdom quotes, but that still leaves a whole bunch of days without something to say. 

I'm sure there will those folks that use November to be thankful by daily posts of thankfulness leading up to Thanksgiving, but I don't think I want that for the blog, nor do I think daily pics of cigars or the views from my deck are what I'll be posting (maybe a few).

So--what have you got?
I'm looking for ideas.
Do you have questions about John?
Topics you'd like me to address?
Food recipes/reviews?
What?

Hopefully, I'll be checking back here for post ideas during the month of November.

John

Perks of Retirement (and a little Astronomy)

Last night was the peak night for the Orionids meteor shower. The early clouds cleared as I dozed on the deck futon. Although the full moon was not ideal for meteor watching, I managed to see several from around 2-3AM. I went in to watch a little TV with Chris and then gave it one more look a little after 4AM.
It's pretty amazing (and a bit terrifying) that the meteor shower is caused by the earth's orbit intersecting with the orbit of Halley's Comet and the debris it loses as it passes close to the sun. The Orionids shower is one of two annual showers caused by intersecting Halley's Comet's orbit. Halley's Comet won't make another pass near the sun until I'm 100 years old, should I live that long.

The full moon was bright and casting moon shadows. (Are you singing, "I'm being followed by a moon shadow?") While a full moon is beautiful to see, it does over power much of the night sky. The early morning fall sky will be the early evening winter sky and it is a beautiful starry sky. It was nice to be able to observe it when it wasn't freezing cold.

Even when I was working, I would often spend a few moments watching for meteors in the middle of the night. The simple complexities (see what I did there?) of the solar system and our universe are worth sacrificing a little sleep. I'm a little sad for people that never take the time to watch a lunar eclipse, a seasonal meteor shower, or just to know the differences in the night skies from one season to the next.

Pretty much everyone knows their sun sign--mine is Gemini. 
Can you find your sign's constellation in the night sky?

The sun is in Gemini--or more correctly, Gemini is behind the sun from around mid-May to mid-June. You can't see your sun sign on or near your birthday. But six months later, your sign will be rising in the east as the sun sets in the west. Astronomically speaking, it will be in opposition. Right now you can still see Scorpio in the western sky at sunset (the reddish star near Venus is Antares, the heart of the scorpion) and Taurus is rising in the east. The rest of the zodiac constellations follow along the equatorial path that the sun travels along throughout the year.
The Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux, are the two bright stars above and slightly east of the constellation Orion. Trace a line using the three stars of Orion's belt continuing up and to the west to a bright red star. That is the red giant Aldebaran and is the red eye of Taurus the bull. Just west of Aldebaran is the small cluster of stars known as The Pleiades. You might recognize them by the shape of the logo that bears their Japanese name--Subaru. 

I enjoyed observing the night sky and reacquainting myself with my old starry friends. I can't say that I'm looking forward to the colder temperatures that their appearance brings. The summer constellations like the Scorpion are bidding us farewell, and the fall/winter constellations are making their annual entrance.
It is the way of the universe--both simple and complex--and it is beautiful.

John

Books

It looks like I'm on pace to finish around 50 books this year. I just finished The Knowledge Machine. It's a book about scientific method and how we have advanced in science to this point. Compared to the history of humankind, modern science methods are relatively young. It was an interesting book, but definitely not a page turner.
While at the library to return it and one other book (Life Maps which I wrote about here), I ordered a book that my friend and fellow blogger Mike posted a few days ago. It sounded like an interesting read so I'm waiting for my local library to get it from one of its neighbors.

I'll let you know in a couple of weeks. The local library should have it in a week or so and I'll pick it up and give it look.

I'm currently finishing up This Life or the Next by Demian Vitanza. It's a novel about a young man's radicalization into the violence of the Muslim holy wars.  I find it interesting because while the Middle Eastern Muslim world has been engaged in violence for millennia, western Christianity has stepped away from it in the past hundred years or so. It is easy to see the scenarios where contemporary and radical American Christians would again (and in some cases are) take up arms and declare their own holy war. I think the only thing that has prevented it in the US is the separation of church and state. If we were to allow the government to be a religious government, we would see the violent divisions within the Christian faith as well as the fighting with those of other beliefs.
It is terrifying to see how easily our minds and core beliefs can be manipulated by the people we are supposed to trust.

Be a skeptic.
Question every thing.
And read.

What are you reading?

John 

Morning Coffee ☕

It's a little cool in the Ozarks this morning. I'm not a fan of having to wear sweatpants, a sweater, and socks to enjoy my coffee and quiet time on the deck. The view is nice and peaceful with only the sounds of birds and the not too distant highway.

Here is the view of our property after a fresh mowing.

It won't be long before the trees at the tree line lose their leaves and a couple of the houses directly behind us will be visible through the trunks and branches. I need to plant some evergreens out there.

Last winter we talked about using clear plastic to enclose the screened in deck so that it's more comfortable to use during the winter. Maybe this year, maybe not.

Something fixed would be the easiest way to go, but since many days are nice enough to sit out during the day, I'd rather have something that can be raised and lowered or open and closed. I'm just not sure I'm up to that kind of planning and work.
Just looking at it and thinking about it is giving me some ideas. I'll get back to you on it.
Just what I need--another project!
Of course, if I do enclose the porch, I won't need to build a separate mini-greenhouse. I can just pot and plant stuff on the deck. Hmmm...
Something else to think about.

Or I can just plan on morning coffee inside by the fireplace--my winter morning Plan B.
Have a grand day!

John

Mi Familia y Mis Amigos

My family and my friends.
I spend part of my road trip yesterday listening to a Spanish lesson (la leccion de Español). Actually, I was re-listening to a lesson. An advantage of online courses is being able to hear them more than once. It helps us slow learners.

My nephew, Andrew, is a student at Saint Louis University. I had a nice drive to St. Louis and a good visit with him. We took a brief walk around campus and then walked to the nearby Pappy's BBQ for lunch. Since it was a sunny afternoon, we opted to eat outdoors. Andrew is getting more of a typical college year this year. Last year wasn't a lot of fun as far as available activities on campus and around St. Louis.
His on campus housing is pretty sweet. He shares a 2-bdrm apartment with a roommate and has a balcony that looks out over the city. That's way better than typical dormitory housing.

The time went pretty quickly. I was only there for about two hours, but it was a nice visit. I think Andrew has some tough classes. He is looking to the medical field, though not yet certain of an area of specializing. Anyway you slice it, that's going to be a lot of science.

After leaving the SLU campus, I phoned one of my blogging friends and met him at Ted Drewe's. 
Mike and I spent a couple of hours visiting in the parking lot before I headed home. It's a little weird to consider someone you basically only know from the internet as a friend, but we have met in person on a few occasions and I always enjoy those times.  

So after 4 hours of visiting, about 7.5 hours of driving and a little time added for gas stops and bathroom breaks, I arrived home almost exactly 12 hours after leaving. I had a brief phone conversation with my son, Aaron, while driving home and listened to the Boston/Houston ballgame on the ESPN app on my phone. 
Chris stayed home and had a friend over for the afternoon. I think they had planned on a craft day, but ended up just visiting and having dinner. Her friend was leaving about the time I got home.
All-in-all, I'd say it was a good day.

I think I'm going to have to be around people this afternoon (church activity), but I'm prepared for a couple of hours of interaction. 

Adios, amigos!
Hasta pronto!
John

Social Situations

I'm not socially awkward. I wouldn't even say that I'm uncomfortable in most social situations. They're just not my thing. I think they tend to drain energy from me and sometimes it's just too much.

Last week we went out to dinner with friends on Monday and met with our small group on Tuesday. When Thursday night barchurch rolled around, I decided that I had already had enough people interaction for the week and stayed home. This week's barchurch was a planned social event that I considered skipping. We walked down to a local brewery, had pizza, beer, and just visited with each other--ugh.

Although the group is relatively small, there are people that I really don't know. I spent some time in conversation with people that I've talked with before and also made it a point to spend a little time getting to know someone new.
I'd say that an introvert's - "It wasn't bad," is a pretty good rating when it comes to social get togethers.
There is another church fall event on Sunday. I'll have about eight hours of solo time in the car tomorrow to gear up for it. 

It's a little weird that churches and other groups plan events that are generally geared toward reaching extroverts and expect the introverts to deal with the discomfort of such gatherings. I will say that The Venues does a fair job with small groups. Including introverts is not an easy task. If you are one of the introverts, I feel your discomfort. 
And I feel like The Venues is a safe place -- for everyone.

John

Living with Fall

Have I mentioned -- I'm not a fan of fall?
This morning (as I sit on the deck in sweat pants and a long sleeved shirt) I'm wondering how long it will be until I'm having my morning coffee inside by the fireplace. I'm not there yet and hopefully won't be for a little while, but it's coming and I'm not thrilled about it. In a couple of weeks the time change will move sunset to the early evening hours. Ugh! 

On the plus side,
The windows are open and the a/c if off for the year. The new question is - How long be fore we turn on the furnace?
Another plus is the daytime temps make working outside more bearable. It's not too big of a deal, but it is a plus worth mentioning.
There are a few good meteor showers. The Draconids were last week and the Orionids are next week. The Leonids will be next month.

That's about it.
But life goes on.
Maybe that's another good thing and perhaps the thing for me to keep in mind -- Life goes on.
The fall and coming winter are a necessary part of the cycle. Things have to die, the land has to rest, and the long nights are necessary to produce the colors, and the glory of the spring and summer.

Oh wait...
Fall baseball!
I've probably watched as much baseball through the early postseason as I've watched all year. Although the Cardinals' season has ended (and they're in that dying, resting, rebuilding season), post season baseball is fun to watch--three games today (I won't watch all three)!
And hockey season begins.

170 days until the Cardinals' 2022 opening day.

John

Note to Facebook friends: I've decided not to continue posting by daily journal from my Healthy Living (by an unhealthy guy) blog. I'm still writing daily, but will only share on FB weekly. Feel free to check it out on Twitter (@Magicianary) or subscribe directly,...or not.

Adult Peer Pressure

It's time.
I've put it off as long as I can.
I'm beginning to feel the peer pressure of my neighbors.
Hopefully it will be the last mowing of the season.
Maybe I'll throw some seed down in the thin areas after this final mowing. I think there is still enough time for it to germinate and get established before the first freeze. I'll have to check on that. I may need to wait until spring.

What peer pressure is in your life?

John

The Knowledge Machine

The Knowledge Machine by Michael Strevens is my current book. 
I'm only about a third of the way through it, and although it isn't a compelling page turner, it is very interesting. At this point I'd say that it is as much a book on philosophy as it is a book of science. Perhaps, it is meant to be that way as philosophy is science and science is a particular kind of philosophy.

It is a little disturbing at how far we have moved away from the scientific analysis of the information that is presented to us today. In a world where information (and misinformation) travels at the speed of a keyboard click, how is it that large parts of our society no longer examine nor evaluate its truthfulness? It would seem that today's standard for truthfulness is based solely on what we want to be true and bears no resemblance to what has scientifically been proved or disproved.

I don't know what can be done to encourage people to educate themselves on how to examine evidence and the credibility of those presenting evidence. Credibility seems to be bestowed based on personal bias rather than scientific fact -- I only believe people and evidence that agree with me.
That's not very scientific, is it?

(heavy sigh)

Some days I no longer wonder if our simple US experiment in democracy will survive. Instead I wonder how long the next form of government will last until there is another revolution.

John