Nature vs Nature

The storm that came through last night did some damage to our flower beds around the yard. I don't know if you can really call our flower beds natural since they are there because of our design and construction. Maybe it's more like nature vs nurture with our gardens being the nurture part.
In any case, many of the sunflowers are bent over almost to the ground, the cosmos and zinnias are also damaged, but all appear to still be rooted. The arbor with its wisteria is blown over and many of the delicate buds are off of the hibiscus plants. 
That's the visible assessment from a distance. I'll see what it looks like when I get out and up close.

We lost power shortly before midnight, but it was back on around 2am. I doubt most of the neighborhood was aware of that until they woke up this morning. 

And maybe it isn't so much Nature vs Nature or Nature vs Nurture, but more a battle between Nature and humans as we continue to exploit the earth and her resources for our immediate benefit without thinking of the consequences of refusing to live in harmony with the world around us. The unusually severe weather patterns of this summer are no doubt connected to the climate change we are experiencing. We went from severe thunderstorm warnings last night to heat advisories for today. 
While it is true that we do our share of driving cars, consuming energy, and using paper and plastics, we are trying to reduce our carbon footprints. 
Our thermostat is set relatively high in the summer and low in the winter. We recycle plastic, paper, corrugated cardboard, glass, and aluminum cans. I often wonder about the benefit of recycling vs the emissions of driving the 35 miles to and from the recycling center. I try to combine my recycling trip with another needed trip into Springfield, but still...
I still need to look into getting solar panels for our home.
My new Ford Maverick hybrid is built and sitting in a plant in Mexico. I wonder if it will ever offset the carbon emissions of being shipped from Mexico to central Illinois and then driven home. Like many things, the actual cost of energy savings may be a more costly way and the best way might just be to do less driving or use less plastic or paper vs recycling what we do use.

I'm going to try to make peace with nature today and see how much of my flower gardens I can restore. 
What's your plan for the day?

John 

Did you know ... ?

Did you know that our alphabet used to have 27 letters (or characters)?

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z &

Yes. The symbol we use for "and" was the 27th letter.
But when reciting the alphabet, kids were not supposed to say "...X Y Z and," or "...X Y Z and and."
They were taught to say "...X Y Z and per se, and."
"and per se and" became ampersand, but was later removed from the alphabet.

John

I missed it! Blogoversary #17!

It was Tuesday, July 25, 2006 that I posted my very first entry at Out of My Hat. 
Tuesday, July 25, 2023 marked 17 years that I've been posting. The blog, its content, and its personality have all changed to reflect my own evolution throughout the past couple of decades. There are a couple of fellow bloggers that have been here since the beginning or at least the early days. Many more have moved on to other platforms or just disappeared into the virtual cloud.

If you're interested in that first post, you can find it here.
That book has never been written, although I occasionally think about it.
I have written more than 2600 posts over the years, made a few virtual friends, and even managed to meet a couple of fellow bloggers in different parts of the country. 

I expect to keep writing for the time being. It's more therapeutic than anything. I don't keep track of readers like I used to. For a while I was getting regular hits from about 30 countries and around 100 or more hits per post. I lost a number of readers and friends over the years from posts that didn't sit well with them. It seems to be the way of things now. Some made a big deal of the differences, others just quietly disappeared. Some of them I miss. Most of them I don't.
Now I write for myself and am happy with the few regular readers that I have.

If you are here and read Out of My Hat regularly (or even occasionally), thank you. 
I generally share my posts on Facebook and Twitter (now X) if you want to follow me there, or you can subscribe directly to the blog.

Retired ATC
Deconstructed Southern Baptist Evangelist
Former Magician
Struggling follower of Jesus
Curmudgeon in training

John

Early to rise...

My sleep pattern has been off this week. Part of it has been intentional, but it is a little more extreme than I was looking for. Typically I go to sleep between midnight and 1 AM and then get up around 7 or so. I have my coffee and quiet time and make a slow start to the day. Since it's been getting hot early, I thought I'd go to bed earlier and start my day a little earlier. This morning I was awake at 4:30, up at 5, and sipping coffee on the deck by 5:30.
The sun is up now and it is already starting to warm up. I need to get a little yard work in before it gets too hot -- watering and more weeding of flower beds. I'm also going to try starting some new hibiscus plants from clippings. Mowing will have to wait for another day.

By the time it gets too hot for a fat, old guy to be working in the heat I will be relaxing with a cold beverage and either smoking a cigar or playing around with my ukulele. I may skip the More Than at 425 tonight. I'm still recovering from all the people-ing on Sat/Sun/Mon. 
We'll see how that goes.

It's not yet 7 AM and I'm ready to get to work. 
Have a great day and keep cool. It's triple digits for SWMO again.

John

Dr Appointments

Not a fan.
I suppose you get to the point of realizing the necessity of them, but they still seem like a waste of time to me. I am fortunate that I don't have them often and remain pretty healthy for a fat guy. My lab numbers came back in good shape from my annual physical a couple of weeks ago, but there are a couple of areas that need some attention.

This morning I have an appointment with a dermatologist. My old dermatologist passed away a couple of years ago and getting into one as a new patient is difficult here. I was able to get a referral and an appointment from my family doc. Early morning appointments kind of suck because I'd rather start the day slowly and more peacefully. On the other hand, I've found there to be less waiting on a doctor and staff that has gotten progressively further behind as the day goes on.
I have become better about the sitting and waiting bit as a retired guy, but I'd rather not spend hours in waiting rooms if it can be avoided so I generally try for morning appointments.

There is a gentle rain this morning and it is a nice (but brief) way to start the day -- sitting on the deck, good coffee, morning sounds, light rain.

Do you have a regular morning routine?
Does it throw your day off if it gets disturbed or missed?
Do you schedule things like appointments in a way that preserves your morning routine?

John

Wednesday Wisdom

 

 Mother Teresa

Musically Inclined -- or not

I've been thinking about taking up the guitar ... again.
It has been a few decades since I've played. There is an old twelve string in the basement, but I'd really need a new guitar if I were to play again. I'm not sure that I'm up for spending the money on a new one or even on a good used one since there is a good chance that 1) the desire to play may be short lived and 2) it really is only for me while sitting on the deck and irritating the birds, bugs, and other more musically talented creatures.

So I came to a decision--

When we were in Mexico a couple of friends played (and sang to) a ukulele. I know a couple of others that have played the ukulele and have even dabbled with it myself in a long ago, distant past. Recent checks on Facebook Marketplace have landed me an affordable instrument which I will pick up in a couple of hours. Soon the old guy will have a new hobby/musical instrument to work on while sitting on the deck. 
In all honesty, it will probably only remind me of just how musically inept I am. 

Coincidentally, one of the friends in Mexico that played the ukulele is named Luna and the ukulele I found is a Luna ukulele!

Expect no videos nor public appearances. This instrument is for personal use only. Consider it just another retirement experiment.

I am looking forward to learning to play it and will enjoy learning some songs as well. I have a feeling Groucho the cat will not be pleased as I disturb her peaceful afternoons/evenings on the deck with my strumming and crooning.

John

Bad Habits -- sort of

I picked up some bad habits while in Mexico last month.
The kids live in a very walkable community. Everything is close by and walking is pretty safe at any hour of the day or night. It is a resort area with a vibrant night life, plenty of affordable restaurants, and there is always something to do for both locals and tourists. We were going out pretty much every night.

In our first week back home I was out with people 4 of the 7 days. This week it's going to be 3 of 7. 
What is going on?

To be completely honest, most of it is pretty cool. I probably wouldn't go out if I totally hated it. I do tend to be ready to leave before most people as my energy wanes and my tolerance for people diminishes, but I am usually with people of my choosing and people that I enjoy being around. There may not be a lot of those people and I find it interesting how different they are from me and from one another. 

Tonight we will be at a Springfield brewery listening to some of our friends play. Their little cover band has really grown in popularity and I am so happy that they seem to be playing somewhere most weekends. They have a great following and so most of the venues where they play end up packed full. We usually see other people that we know and have a good evening of conversing and listening to music.

If we were in Puerto Vallarta next Monday night, we would be at a little neighborhood bar/restaurant listening to one of our new friends play his acoustic guitar and sing popular covers and some original stuff, as well. Our small group of PV friends would be there supporting him, conversing with one another, and enjoying an evening out.

I wonder how these friends from very different worlds would get along with one another. 
Since I tend to gravitate toward people that have open minds and open spirits, I think they would mesh pretty well. Daily life in PV is much slower and has so much less stress than daily life in the US. 
But even in the busy (often stressful) life of the US, music has its way of calming (or energizing) the spirit and releasing the stress. 

Being out in public may not be as bad if I get to choose the people I'm with. I prefer smaller groups and even smaller (one on one) conversations within those groups. The problem (as I see it) with going out in public is that too often the public shows up!
sigh

John

When Our Focus is Wrong

Most of you that know me, know that I ride a motorcycle. As a rookie rider I undertook a long cross country trip and included some riding that was probably too advanced for my time in the saddle. While I definitely lacked experience, I was not totally unprepared. I read and watched motorcycle training videos to help prepare me for my solo ride.
My planned ride included riding the famed Tail of the Dragon, an 11 mile stretch of US 129 with 318 curves. I took a few rides along MO 125 and rode some of the twisty roads in Northern Arkansas to prep me. The instruction that I kept seeing to avoid ending up in a ditch or straying into the oncoming lane of traffic was to focus on the road you want to ride. If you focus on the ditch, you'll end up in the ditch. If you're watching the center line, you'll cross the center line. Watch where you're riding and you'll ride where you're watching.

It works.
Mountain bikers, trail runners, skiers -- are all taught the same thing. Look where you want to go. If you focus on the obstacles you want to miss you will invariably end up hitting them!

So...
Why do Christians and church leaders tend to focus so much on sin?
Isn't that counter-intuitive to the results we're hoping for?
Wouldn't reminders to be kind, to love our neighbors, to follow Jesus -- be better ways to encourage real Christianity than the constant turn or burn fear mongering that seems to be the bent of all of the outspoken, loudmouthed evangelical preachers, teachers, and disciples?

What if we stopped focusing on what we need to stop doing to get to heaven and started living like we're already living in the presence of God? 
What if salvation isn't about saving us for an afterlife heaven, but to allow us to experience heaven now?
What if Jesus wasn't about getting us from earth to heaven, but was about bringing heaven to earth?
"...Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (is here)."
Remember those words?

Just thoughts in my head this morning (after scrolling my Twitter feed).

John

The Games People Play

I'm talking about real games, not the bullshit mind/manipulation games. 
I had taken a rather long break from playing Wordle and Quordle, but I have recently picked them up again. I like that it is just one puzzle per day so I'm not getting sucked into playing for long periods of time. I also play a couple of block puzzle games from time to time. I have a cribbage game on my phone but I haven't played it in quite some time.

Do you have a go-to game that you play on your phone, tablet, or computer?

I know I'm old, but I still think the classic tetris is one of the best computer games. I'd love to find an app with the classic game.
I recently read about people that had never played solitaire with actual cards and weren't sure how to deal the cards to begin a game.
Do people still play cards?
There are so many card games -- hearts, spades, euchre, rummy and its variations, bridge, casino, pinochle (that's a weird name), and countless others. 

I don't usually like playing games with strangers. I'm a little competitive and that can be hard on relationships. It's safer just to talk. I can filter my comments easier than changing my competitive nature. And to be fair, it isn't that I have to win -- I just don't want to lose. There is no fun in losing. 
I think solo computer games suit me just fine.

What are your time kill games?

John