It's a brew-tiful day to have Starbucks. ---Starbucks Corporation
Friday, September 30, 2022
Quote of the Week...from Starbucks
Thursday, September 29, 2022
The Saga of Ian
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Weekly Short Stories: 1986 Science Fiction, Part 8
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Podcaster Spells Out Some Steps for Success
Monday, September 26, 2022
Constellations of the Month: Sagitta (the Arrow) and Delphinus (the Dolphin)
Sagitta, which really does resemble an arrow, and Delphinus...which does not resemble a dolphin...are tiny constellations situated between the larger Cygnus and Aquila in the summertime evening sky. Altair, in the neighboring constellation Aquila, is the southernmost of the prominent three first-magnitude stars commonly referred to as the "Summer Triangle"...I included it in the above illustration to show where these two pipsqueak constellations are located in the night sky. Their stars are all dim, but they do form distinct patterns...you should be able to easily make them out in a setting without city light interference. The Milky Way cuts through them, so this region of the sky is pretty as well. As for deep space objects...besides the Milky Way galaxy background itself...there is within Sagitta M71, which is a globular star cluster. Delphinus is also referred to as "Job's Coffin", but it doesn't resemble one any more than a dolphin. Since this time of year around 10 pm these constellations in northern temperate latitudes pass nearly overhead, as long as it's not cloudy or you're not in the middle of a metropolis, then spotting them might stand as a reasonable test of your vision...
Next month, I'll pick another constellation to discuss...
Sunday, September 25, 2022
My #12 All-Time Favorite Album: In Search of the Lost Chord by the Moody Blues
IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD, from 1968, is the Moody Blues' follow-up to their highly acclaimed Days of Future Passed and is my #12 all-time favorite album. Yet it wouldn't be until the 1990s when I finally got around to hearing it in its entirety, although I was vaguely familiar with two of its tracks, Ride My See-Saw and Legend of a Mind, from album rock radio in years gone by. That first song I mentioned, coupled with the preceding track Departure, would become a common bumper music feature of the late Art Bell's wildly popular late-night paranormal talk radio show, but it stands well on its own. In Search of the Lost Chord is very thematic, focused on Eastern philosophy and religion, particularly that of India. That's cool with me since I tend to be a sucker for mystical stuff...just lay off the dogmatism, please. And all five band members not only had strong creative roles in the different songs, but they also sang (or spoke) on them. Here are my takes on the tracks as they appear on the record...
Saturday, September 24, 2022
Ian Poses Threat to Florida as It Strengthens and Turns
Friday, September 23, 2022
Quote of the Week...from Albert Einstein
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Daisy in the Frame
We've had our little mixed-breed puppy for a little more than four months now...Daisy was only two months old back in May when we adopted her at PetSmart off Archer Road through a pet adoption non-profit group. Then she weighed just seven pounds...click HERE for an earlier article (and picture). Now she's 29 pounds but still a little puppy...I took the top picture above a couple of days ago while holding her in my right arm. Melissa came up with the name, which I quickly took to, but didn't recognize the significance in "Toon World" as Daisy is also the Bumsteads' pet dog in their comic strip Blondie. One thing tying the two together is that both Daisy's make it a point to make sure they're "in the frame"...check out an old one featuring Dagwood shirking his chores. I've been walking Daisy around the block each morning in order to train her to follow me and not her own agenda...mixed results so far. She loves standing on her hind legs and looking out the front window, watching alertly from the left to the right (and back) and huffing and puffing and growling...and occasionally barking at passing cars, people, and of course dogs. She's very much bonded to both of us but much more so with Melissa...when she leaves the room for just a little bit Daisy turns into a big crybaby. For a few weeks recently we took her to "puppy kindergarten" where she met up with fellow pups and practiced training Melissa and me to be better humans. Her growth seems to have slowed down a bit, but maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part. We love Daisy and wish her a happy, well-behaved life...
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Weekly Short Stories: 1986 Science Fiction, Part 7
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
Podcaster Discusses His Tips on Learning
Monday, September 19, 2022
Just Finished Reading The Stars Did Wander Darkling by Colin Meloy
Sunday, September 18, 2022
My #13 All-Time Favorite Album: Close to the Edge by Yes
Saturday, September 17, 2022
Just Finished Rereading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a largely autobiographical philosophical novel written by Robert Pirsig, who passed away five years ago at age 88. Originally published in 1974, the narrative covers a motorcycle journey taken by Pirsig and his son Chris, along with another couple on the early stages, through the northwestern US. The author weaves together a diversity of topics: his own life history as a creative writing professor in Montana, debates about the legacy of ancient Greek philosophy, most notably that of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, two conflicting modern attitudes toward technology as epitomized by the schism in approaching motorcycle maintenance, and his rocky relationship with his son, complicated by the mental breakdown he had earlier suffered along with the consequential memory loss caused by now-discredited electroshock therapy. Pirsig discusses what he sees as two conflicting worldviews people today (and in the past) maintain about how they approach life: the Classical, which involves seeing things for their components and underlying form (expressed commonly in science and technology) and the Romantic, which involves seeing things for their whole essence (the arts). I first read this book back in the late summer of 1990 and tend to associate it with working at the old downtown Gainesville post office where I read most of it during my breaks...I recall the Gulf War was heating up at the same time. At this second reading, I tried culling all of the sometimes-challenging detail into something I could remember better, coming away with two key words Pirsig talked about: quality and gumption. According to him, quality, very difficult to describe in technical terms, somehow became separated from truth in ancient Greek philosophy and needs restoration. And he discussed gumption as something akin to motivation and confidence, a trait necessary for an effective life as well as, of course, for properly maintaining a motorcycle. It's a great book, although the "zen" in it seemed elusive for me. I see a third reading somehow down the line...maybe I won't wait 32 years next time...
Friday, September 16, 2022
Quote of the Week...from M in the Movie Dr. No
Miss Moneypenny, forget the usual repartee. 007's in a hurry. ---M, Dr. No
Thursday, September 15, 2022
Follow-Up about Rob Dial's Podcast on Hobbies
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Weekly Short Stories: 1986 Science Fiction, Part 6
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
Thinking of 9/11/01
Monday, September 12, 2022
Podcaster Suggests Five Kinds of Hobbies
When I saw the title of a recent podcast of Rob Dial for his Mindset Mentor program, I was under the impression that he was going to reveal five different specific hobbies I should consider pursuing to enhance my personal development. If he had really done that, I probably would be writing this article laying out my objections to this hobby or that. Instead, he described five different kinds of hobbies: oh, yeah, I can dig that. Here are his suggested hobby categories:
Sunday, September 11, 2022
My #14 All-Time Favorite Album: Magical Mystery Tour by the Beatles
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR, by THE BEATLES, is my all-time #14 album. Although it came out in late 1967, when I was eleven, I didn't hear many of the songs on it until years later. This is a strange album in its conception, with one side consisting mainly of popular singles hits and B-sides from that year and the other a string of tracks featured on their ill-fated British television special, patterned after the title track. It is that "singles" side that makes it one of my all-time favorites, for songs like Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane, All You Need is Love and Hello/Goodbye are true classics. Here's a listing of the album's tracks according to my liking:
Saturday, September 10, 2022
Beach Instead of Football Planned Today
As Melissa and I head out of town to Daytona Beach on this stormy weekend, many other folks are pouring into Gainesville to partake of the festivities of the University of Florida Fightin' Gators football team as they try to beat Kentucky this evening. Everyone's excited because they won their first game last Saturday...if only by the skin of their teeth. But confidence morphing into cockiness abounds...sooner or later they're gonna lose and that will be tough for some to withstand. I've been to three UF home games since 1977...all of them due to others inviting me or handing over their tickets due to other commitments. The only time I "enjoyed" the experience was the time during Muschamp's last year as coach when it was homecoming and Missouri humiliated Florida...that was all right with me: I was sitting with Melissa in the front row in the end zone cushioned chairs instead of those bleachers. With bleachers, you come to an early conclusion that you have a simple choice: either stay seated and only see the backs of the people standing up in front of you or stand up yourself and block the people behind you...no thanks! No, we'll be out on the oceanfront, most probably ignoring the Gators and other sporting events. Hope the truckers aren't out there...they really screwed up our Labor Day weekend visit there a couple of years ago...
Friday, September 9, 2022
Quote of the Week...from Queen Elizabeth II
Thursday, September 8, 2022
Horrible Weather Continues, Here and There
Just when it looked like my poor lawn would finally dry up and stop resembling a rice paddy, the sky opened up today and its right back to where it was, a big, green saturated sponge. And it looks like there's plenty more rain to come...good grief. I'm looking forward to dryer times...if that ever happens. But after watching the Weather Channel lately, it looks as if the rest of the country has its own weather issues. I sometimes entertain a daydream of just getting on a plane and going to one of the many places further up north that hold half-marathons this time of year, because it's supposedly colder there, you see. One of the places, Scottsbluff in western Nebraska, is holding one in a couple of weeks. But according to TWC, temperatures have recently climbed to 99 degrees there. And these heat waves have been horrible this summer, subjecting normally more temperate places like Oregon, Montana, Minnesota and New Hampshire at different times to horrendous conditions. Maybe I'll just stick to an air-conditioned lifestyle for a while...
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Weekly Short Stories: 1986 Science Fiction, Part 5
Happy Anniversary to My Dear Melissa
I'd like to take this opportunity to tell my beautiful wife Melissa how much I love and appreciate her, and that I wish her a wonderful 36-year anniversary. I love you!
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Podcaster Stresses Living in the Future Instead of the Past
Personal development coach Rob Dial has a successful podcast titled Mindset Mentor. Four days a week he spends about 20 minutes on various topics relating to success, motivation and self-improvement. On a recent show he discussed how too many people allow their pasts to dictate their present outlook and behavior, consequently holding them back from success. Instead, he proposes that we project ourselves into the future...Dial suggests about 10 years ahead...and visualize the kind of person we want to become. Consequently, we would be tackling the kinds of life situations we are experiencing in the present based on that future vision of ourselves. In other words, get the brain to go into the future instead of the past when determining our actions. This sounds a little counterintuitive to me, especially since the same podcaster has in past episodes stressed living in the present moment, with the past and future only representing abstractions instead of reality. But it's a good habit to have a sense of direction in life and taking some time and effort to know what person I want to become. James Clear's book Atomic Habits lays a similar foundation when he stresses "becoming" over "goals" as a guide for eliminating bad habits and growing into new ones. For me, at age 65 I have a long span of memories that I can let negatively influence what I undertake now, and, yes, projecting myself into the future and letting that vision guide me sounds reasonable. On the other hand, and Rob Dial acknowledges this to an extent, I didn't get to where I am today by dismissing my past experiences wholesale: memory is an important survival mechanism. So, as with so many other things, this comes down to discernment and a sense of balance...
Monday, September 5, 2022
Surprising Tennis and College Football Results This Labor Day Weekend
I was surprised yesterday and today to watch the men's number one and number two seeds at the U.S. Open tournament go down in flames in their respective Round of 16 matches. Sunday top-seeded Daniil Medvedev, last year's tournament champion, lost to Nick Kyrgios and today second-seeded Rafael Nadal was taken apart by Frances Tiafoe. Although I was rooting for Kyrgios, I suspected that the finale would naturally be between Medvedev and Nadal...is this finally the signal for the changing of the guard in men's pro tennis? With the women, top seeded Iga Swiatek is still hanging in there, but #2 seed Aryna Sabalenka is, at this writing, one set down to Danielle Collins...I'm watching on ESPN2 to see what happens. I was also surprised yesterday to see both Florida and Florida State win their season openers, the former at home against seventh-ranked Utah and the latter at Baton Rouge against Louisiana State. Both contests ended up as nailbiters, the Gators intercepting a Ute TD pass attempt with 17 seconds left to win 29-26 and the 'Noles prevailing on a blocked extra-point attempt at the end of regulation, giving them a 24-23 win. Both teams...as well as my third traditional Florida college football team favorite, Miami, should provide plenty of entertainment for this 2022 season. I was a little taken aback at the big boast that Florida's attendance crowd was a packed record at over 90,000, this happening while new Covid vaccines are being rolled out amid the newer strains' resistance to older versions...and folks are still getting sick, are going to the hospital and are dying from this pestilence. Oh well, I guess people just want to pretend it's all over now...
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Correction...Sabalenka is seeded #6 and did come from behind to advance tonight. #2 was Anett Kontaveitt, who lost in the second round to Serena Williams...
Sunday, September 4, 2022
My #15 All-Time Favorite Album: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles
Saturday, September 3, 2022
Rocket Launch, Football, and Tennis on TV Today
NASA's planned launch of its Artemis I mission to the Moon and back earlier this week was scrubbed for technical issues and rescheduled for today, with 2:17 pm being the start of a two-hour launch window. We'll just have to see whether other technical problems arise as well as keep an eye on the weather during this pretty stormy season for central Florida. I'll be watching to see what happens...NASA television has a live feed, and you can see it on YouTube, they say. I'm wondering whether the Weather Channel will cover it...they tend to clog up their weekend schedule lineup with prepackaged, annoying shows. The mission, which will send the Orion spacecraft on a six-week voyage to circle the Moon with mannequins inside before returning, is the first such attempt since Apollo 17 sent three astronauts there in December 1972. As I wrote before, the plan is to mimic the Artemis I flight in 2024 but using live astronauts, and then land humans on the Moon's surface in 2025 for the first time in more than 52 years...it's about time!
On a completely different note, being a long-term Gainesville resident, today I'm treated to the start of the hometown University of Florida football season with a traditional home game this evening, this one a more difficult assignment with the Top Ten Utah Utes coming into town to play the Gators. Florida has a new head coach in Billy Napier and I'll probably be watching some if not most of the game in my living room on TV. While on break at work around 5:30 yesterday afternoon I noticed two fighter jets flying around low and fast...I wonder whether they will be part of a pregame show. The U.S. Open tennis tournament will be ongoing as well...maybe there will be an interesting match on ESPN...
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Later, around 12:30 pm: They've already scrubbed today's rocket launch...next window on Monday. Let's see whether they can at least get the football game in...