My September 2013 Running Report

September was marked by a feeling of stagnation with my running, although I kept my total mileage up.  Whatever the reasons, I just didn't enjoy the activity as much as before.  I avoided running outside whenever the temperature or the humidity seemed too high, as was usually the case.  However, I intend to stay the course with my running, hoping that this period of relative lack of enthusiasm will pass.  I covered 110.73 miles for the month, missing just one day of running.  My longest single run was 6 miles.  I had earlier planned to run in a local half-marathon race scheduled on September 28, but changed my mind as the date approached.  That turned out to be just as well, because I had a rush of personal matters arising that took up my time anyway.  Maybe if I feel up to it, I'll run the next half-marathon in town, which will be in November.

One Game Is Too Short for Baseball Wild Card Playoffs

Monday night the Tampa Bay Rays will play against the Texas Rangers in "game 163" to decide who gets to turn around and play Cleveland for another one-game series in the playoffs.  I think that, given the way baseball teams are composed with their rotations of four to five regularly starting pitchers, not to mention that they play a 162-game regular season to sort out who's the best, it's ludicrous to think that ONE game should ever decide who gets to advance in the playoffs.  I get it regarding the Rays/Ranger game tonight: they finished with identical 91-71 records, tied for the final playoff spot.  But within the playoffs, part of what determines a team's greatness is the potency of its pitching rotation...and not just the best "star" pitcher.  I remember one year, back in 1972 in a strike-shortened season, when the Philadelphia Phillies had an awful team, finishing with around 59 wins and more than 90 losses...in dead last place.  But they also had an ace starting pitcher in their generally pathetic rotation by the name of Steve Carlton, who went on to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  In spite of the rest of the team's poor performance, he went 27-10 that year and won the Cy Young Award for best pitcher (one of four he collected over his career).  Had the Phillies engaged with ANY team in a "one game playoff", even the best, they most likely would have prevailed with Carlton pitching.  But there was much more to them than just their star pitcher.  The same applies to the upcoming game between Cleveland and the Texas/Tampa Bay winner.  They could at least have a best-of-three series between them.  I don't think the current format will last anyway, and perhaps my idea might be adopted...

GOP House Instigating Debt Ceiling Crisis

It looks as if the federal government will be soon entering another politically-inspired crisis when the vote to raise the debt ceiling once again comes up in the House of Representatives...and the Republicans, as is whenever they are in control of that body under a Democratic president...will again hold the nation hostage while they risk economic disaster just to push their own agenda.  This time the partisan pet peeve is their opposition to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which was passed by both houses of Congress, signed into law by the President, and upheld by the United States Supreme Court.  Regardless how you feel about this bill, how they are going about trying to destroy it is reprehensible.  I don't mind Republicans in Congress...I just wish there would be a few with the backbone to stand up to the extremists pushing this counterproductive policy.  The GOP had a chance to end ACA, or "Obamacare" as it is more widely known: they could have taken both the Senate and House...AND the Presidency in the last national election in 2012.  But the people spoke...yet the "Grand" Old Party persists in their delusion, despite the consistently abhorrently low poll ratings for them in Congress, in thinking that playing this brinkmanship game with the country's economy will somehow bear positive fruit for them.

Florida-Kentucky Football Game Tomorrow

Tomorrow will be the first opportunity for replacement starting quarterback Tyler Murphy as the University of Florida football team travels to Lexington, Kentucky to face the Wildcats in a continuation of a series that the Gators have dominated for decades. Since Kentucky doesn't appear to have one of their better teams this year, I don't expect Florida will have too much trouble in this game.  I think the most interesting thing about this game for Gator fans is to see how well Murphy does in his first full starting college game...

Running Progress Not As I Like It

Although I have generally been keep my running mileage at projected target levels, I somehow feel as if I am going backwards instead of forwards with my running progress.  I used to run more or less daily outside on the streets around my neighborhood, but this year I have been spending more time in the gym running on the treadmill.  Treadmill running is a good stopgap measure to maintain continuity in case of bad weather or the need to run at night because of daytime scheduling conflicts.  But as the main focus of my running, it doesn't match up with the degree of intensity that hard contact with a surface provides, especially in the mental area of me determining my own running pace instead of some machine doing that important job.  My excuse has been a good one, though, with the weather being so terribly hot.  Two other factors have contributed to my current running stagnation: one is my change in March to a 11 PM to 7:30 AM work shift, which has turned my running opportunities on their head.  I used to, when earlier working the afternoon/evening shift, run around the 'hood in the late morning hours when temperatures were still reasonable and the humidity had dropped to a bearable level.  Nowadays, though, that time period is when I need to be asleep.  So I have as a choice early mornings when I am tired from work and the humidity is high, late afternoons when the temperature is highest, or....just pick a convenient time and run at the gym in air conditioning!  The temperatures are finally beginning to dip as autumn sinks in.  Hopefully, this will usher in more afternoon outdoors running.  The other factor limiting my running progress has been my gradual weight gain over the last couple of years.  Since early 2010 I have gained some 25 pounds, and that means that I am lugging that much more than I need on me with every step I take.  Not sustainable!  I need to focus on what I am eating more...

Just Finished Reading Martin's A Clash of Kings

I just finished reading A Clash of Kings, which is George R.R. Martin's second installment in his fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.  There is no "main" protagonist to this work, at least not on the line of Tolkien's Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit.  Instead, it's more like that author's presentation of the characters in Lord of the Rings...but with some of the "bad guys" also weighing in on the narrative from their own vantage points.  Imagine getting a perspective on Tolkien's epic story from the viewpoint of Saruman! I first thought this method of telling the story was annoying, but now I find it very interesting.  With this system of chapters headed by a diversity of characters experiencing the plot contained within, it also puts in doubt their ultimate survival within the series.  Martin pulled a Hitchcock-like "Psycho" on readers of the first book, A Game of Thrones, when he then brutally rubbed out what seemed to be a central character in the series.  More of the same ensued in the book I just finished, but by the time they occurred I had been expecting something of the sort and wasn't quite as traumatized.

Volume three of A Song of Ice and Fire is titled A Storm of Swords.  I'll be starting it soon...

Gators Still Hopeful Despite Driskell Injury

Last Saturday the Florida Gators were able to overcome a first quarter second-ending ankle injury to their starting quarterback Jeff Driskel as they once again defeated hapless Tennessee 31-17.  It was backup  junior quarterback Tyler Murphy who stepped in and regenerated the then-stalling offense, which had committed several early turnovers.  Murphy seemed to be very quick with reading defenses and reacting to opposing players, sidestepping potential sacks and breaking tackles for good rushing yardage.  His passing had flashes of brilliance as well.  If he can avoid  injury, I  have high hopes for him and the Gator offense as the schedule gets more difficult in a few weeks.  For now, though, Florida will travel for their next game against Kentucky, which is experiencing a rather difficult time with their performance this year.  The following week they'll play another relatively weaker SEC opponent in Arkansas before encountering LSU on the road and then more difficulty.  But now, barring injury (always a possibility, just ask Driskel), I now think they have a fighting chance.  I wasn't so sure after the offense's dismal performance the previous game against the University of Miami.  Notice that I've said nothing so far about Florida's defense.  That's because they are consistently good.  It will be interesting to see how well they do against tougher foes like LSU, Georgia, and South Carolina down the road...

Are Dolphins Returning to Old Winning Ways?

The Miami Dolphins are surprising me, week after week in this young 2013 National Football League season.  In their first game against Cleveland, I felt they had to win that game since the Browns were most likely a relatively weak team this year.  Still, knowing Miami's recent history with poor starts, I was doubtful...then pleasantly surprised when the Dolphins pulled out a win, 23-10.  The next game was a road game against the Indianapolis Colts, lead by their rookie sensation of last year, quarterback Andrew Luck, and which made the playoffs.  But I was amazed at how Miami won a close victory, accomplished by a complete team effort that included dampening Luck's effectiveness with a tough defense.  The score was 24-20.  Then, yesterday the Dolphins had a home game against on of last year's National Conference finalists, the Atlanta Falcons.  Once again the Dolphins prevailed in a close one, this time 27-23.

2013 is the first season since 2002 that Miami has started the regular season with a 3-0 record.  Their next game is going to be another challenge: Monday night at New Orleans against the (also) 3-0 Saints.  Should the Dolphins win this one, it will be the first time since 1995 that they went 4-0.  I'm feeling pretty good about them so far, but the most crucial games will be the six they play within their own division against rivals New England, New York (Jets), and Buffalo.  I don't explain Miami to win the rest of their games, but if they can do well inside their own division, then they should be able to do something they haven't accomplished since 2008: make the playoffs.

Doctor Sleep Finally Set for Release Tuesday

Well, the day after tomorrow the long-awaited date is arriving: the opening day for the sale of Stephen King's novel Doctor Sleep.  It's been long-awaited at least for me, to the same extent that I used to wait for those last few Harry Potter novels to come out.  Of course, with them bookstores would hold store-wide celebrations as they would keep their doors open past midnight, when the new books would be permitted to be sold.  I don't see any similar fanfare, though, with Doctor Sleep, which is a sequel to his The Shining, spaced apart by several decades.  I saw King on C-Span once a couple of years ago when he went over some of his projects that would soon be published.  Along with the upcoming release, he also then discussed his excellent 11/22/63 and a short Dark Tower novel titled The Wind Through the Keyhole.  When he read a short passage from Doctor Sleep, I was instantly intrigued and sold on it (and just a little suspicious thereafter on the Interstate of some of the slower vehicles on the right).  Unfortunately, the decision was made to release it last of all...but it may all be for the best in the end as the author had felt the need to revise some sections in it.

I have Doctor Sleep on hold/reserve at my county public library, but I'm far back on the waiting list at #47.  It will take a while for the book to come my way, although I'm sure they ordered several copies of it.  So I may just buy the book outright or maybe just stop in one of those bookstores and get a head start on my reading. I do have a little bit of curiosity as to whether any of them on Monday night will keep their doors open past midnight for the release...

Body Needs to Adjust to Weather Changes

At some time every autumn, it seems, I step outside when it is the upper fifties for the first time of the season.  I always seem to shudder at how extremely cold it feels and suddenly wish a return to the long, hot summer I just left.  But soon thereafter, every time in fact, I acclimate myself to the seasonal cooling and find myself enjoying the more temperate climate.  But first I have to pass through that initial boundary of "shock" at the long-missed cool temperatures.  I feel something similar may have happened to me today, but in reverse.

From time to time during this extraordinary, brutally hot and humid summer, I have ventured out on short runs outside through my neighborhood.  Often these runs would be limited to one or two laps around my block.  Mostly, though, I confined my running to indoors with temperature controlled and in the 70's with low humidity.  This morning I tried to see how long I could stand it outside under a slightly cooler-than-normal 81 degrees and moderate 66% humidity.  I had hoped, as I wound my way up and down familiar streets on my long-established neighborhood running course, to run 7 miles or more.  But I only managed to get to 4.83 miles and felt overheated and exhausted.  Still, my recovery from the run seems to be going well.  I'm inclined to think that my negative reaction to the run wasn't as much due to being out of shape, which I know I'm not, as it was against the abruptly unpleasant weather, as mild as it was in comparison to the summer's generally roasting heat. 

I'm going to test this out in a couple of days and run once again for a substantial distance outside.  Maybe my body, like it does when it finally acclimates itself to cooler conditions, will get used to the less pleasant warm temperatures.  At least that's what I'm hoping.  In any event, I think I'm going to skip that local half-marathon race next Saturday and wait for cooler weather.

Pathological Weather

In Florida we have two separated months in which the love bug population makes its appearance.  The major month of this is May, while in September a smaller recurrence of them takes place.  This bugs tend to swarm and mate over warm surfaces.  Hence, they are more prevalent during these periods on open highways like the Interstate, where passing vehicles heat up the road and attract them in hordes.  As a result there are a lot of very splattered windshields...which is also very annoying.  But I'm not on the Interstate and this isn't May...it's September, the supposably "mild" time for them.  Yet these pests are everywhere.  I'm sitting here at my usual Starbucks in the Magnolia Parke shopping center and am looking out of the window at masses of these critters, who are making a spectacle of themselves that actually dwarfs May conditions at their worst!

I know what is the cause of this preponderance of love bugs: the extraordinarily hot and long summer we've been experiencing.  There is no letup in the high temperatures, and although I had earlier expressed hope in a gradual cooling a few days ago, no such cooling is forecast for the next few days, at least.

In a way, I am glad for the overwhelming nuisance of these insects.  For they reaffirm my disturbance at this year's weather: first, an almost nonexistent winter, then a very early, hot, and humid summer, and now a delay for more usual seasonal cooling.  I don't think the meteorologists are fully on top of this phenomenon: they had predicted a very active hurricane season this year with many U.S. landfall threats.  The opposite has happened, though.  Another trend I've noticed is how the multiple-day temperature high forecasts are almost ways raised as the target day approaches.  And many times I turn on the weather station and notice, for example, that the current temperature will be something like 92 degrees when the stated predicted high is, say, 87!

Oh by the way, I am DEFINITELY going to my air-conditioned gym to do my running today...

Martial Atmosphere Increasing and Ominous

Quiet often when I'm watching TV a public service announcement will broadcast about a cause called "Wounded Warrior Project".  Its aim is compassionate and compelling, rallying support around the all-too-many veterans who have returned from combat duty physically and/or mentally traumatized from the experience.  Both volunteers and financial donations are solicited in these ads: I think this is a good cause.  Beyond this, though, is an ominous trend: the increasing martial mood in this nation.

People in uniform brandishing weapons are being increasing held up in our society as a superior class of citizen, to which all others are expected to at least perfunctorily show the signs of humble deference and appreciation.  But although the duties of soldiers, police, and the like have their undeniable value, each of the individuals who engage in these occupations go into them fully aware of the dangers and consequences of their choices, in the case of the military there not having been forced conscription since 1973.  After the Bush administration in 2003 launched an unprovoked invasion of Iraq, the push for exalting the military above anything else was pumped mercilessly through the press.  It soon came to be that anyone who was against this horrible, unnecessary war wasn't properly "supporting the troops".  In my view, it was the bungled continuing occupation of Iraq that the political leaders of the time (Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney) in Washington were mismanaging that was a betrayal of support for the troops. The soldiers followed their instructions professionally and bravely, for the most part, and deserve the compassion and support of the rest of society upon their return to civilian society.  But that's just it: it is CIVILIAN society they are returning to, not a continuation of the military.  I also don't understand why, after it had already been made patently clear that we were bogged down in a hopeless quagmire in Iraq, young men and women willingly signed up for military service, knowing perfectly well that they could be the next reported killed or injured in combat.  Why should I necessarily defer to someone who made that kind of deliberate decision to seek out the danger?

In Gainesville, any time a police officer is killed on duty, the street where the death occurred is renamed after the fallen officer.  This on the surface sounds like a nice gesture and shouldn't be a problem, except that, as I said before, it puts uniformed, armed individuals on a higher pedestal above others.  Where I work, at a civilian organization, it has been a long-standing policy to give military veterans and even their spouses, regardless of whether there was any combat duty involved, substantial hiring advantages over non-veterans and their spouses.  I was passed over for a year in my hiring process because of this, and I found myself, after scoring a perfect "100" on the pre-employment examination that was supposed to set the hiring list order, suddenly relegated behind several others who leapfrogged ahead of me because of military connections.  I don't think a civil society that has constitutionally placed the military in a subservient role should be run like that.  Yet in the midst of gridlock on Capital Hill, one kind of issue inevitably gets clear sailing: anything that gives preferential treatment to those in uniform.

We don't live in science-fiction writer Robert Heinlein's universe where the military and those who are members thereof are set apart to enjoy perks and rights that the rest don't.  Or do we?

Rush Hour Gym Running Overcrowded

The gym I go to is the biggest in Gainesville (well, the UF student recreation center might be bigger).  It has at least two stories to it (maybe more) and is loaded with weight training equipment, weight machines, and cardio machines.  There is an indoor pool and adequate locker rooms.  There's even a cafe there in the lobby, although the prices to me seem a bit steep.  Also, it has an indoor basketball court area and a large empty room for group workout activities.  Outside, there is, on the northern end of the parking lot, an outdoor obstacle course training area.  And there are lots of TVs downstairs, and upstairs as well...embedded within treadmills, at least.  I know because I almost always use these second-floor treadmills when I go there.  No weights, stationary bikes, elliptical machines, basketball, pool, obstacle course...just running on treadmills.  And knowing that the place is available 24 hours per day is reassuring.  Still, there are times when I really need to avoid the place. Like yesterday during late afternoon rush hour.

I have my own schedules and unfortunately often find myself out and about, driving through rush hour traffic.  Yesterday was one such time and I went into my local gym to run on one of the 15-20 upstairs treadmills.  No such luck befell me as I got up there and found them all taken.  So I sighed to myself, walked downstairs, and tried out one of the ground floor treadmills.  I don't like these machines as much as the ones upstairs: they seem clumsier and don't have the televisions on them that enable me to channel surf while running.  Still, my main goal was running and I gamely plodded onward.  But then the ground floor environment began to bother me.  All of the sounds seemed amplified and it felt warmer there than on the second floor.  I cranked out four miles, but felt as if I had run much further.  I wonder what the matter is with that  place!  This afternoon I got to the gym earlier, around 3:30, and the upstairs treadmills were available (but not many).  I got on one and easily ran five miles.  Only time constraints in my schedule kept me from running further, and the run was smooth sailing with little discomfort.

It could be that I am becoming very finicky about my running conditions.  I have less tolerance for outdoor weather and I don't like running inside either, if the conditions don't meet my preferences.  Still, there's no need in punishing myself in 90-degree-plus weather or running in less comfortable conditions indoors...

My Current Reading Focus

I am currently in the process of reading five books...and each is a part of a series.  I am continuing George R.R. Martin's celebrated fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire as I am nearing the end of the second book, titled A Clash of Kings.  I am also on the second book in Terry Goodkind's twelve-part series The Sword of Truth, having begun it a week ago.  Its title is Stone of Tears.  Also in the second book of a series, this one a bit shorter, I am delving into the "darker" side of the magical experience with Jonathan Stroud's The Golem's Eye in his Bartimaeus Trilogy.  I am on the first of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy as well.  Finally, I've picked up a book I had abandoned a couple of years ago and am once again tackling the Bourne series of Robert Ludlum, right now a little way into the first volume, The Bourne Identity.  But with none of these series am I going to watch any derived movies or television series.  After all, I want to develop my imagination, not have images spoon-fed to me.  Besides, screen adaptations of novels have a tendency to deviate, sometimes very substantially, from the written word.  If memory serves me correctly, the little snippets I saw of The Bourne Identity movie version with Matt Damon deviated substantially from what little I had read...

Each of the five series I'm reading presents a rather unattractive picture of humanity: a cutthroat and brutal society that exalts violence and aggressive behavior.  That goes even for the alternative history in the children's series of  Bartimaeus, with an elitist social class of magicians dominating civil society and oppressing the general population. Ludlum's protagonist Jason Bourne struggles in the unforgiving world of international espionage while Martin, Goodkind, and Sanderson rachet up the savagery with medieval fantasy societies bent on war and vendettas.  All of this violence can get to be a bit numbing after a while, but at least with all five series the authors have developed some interesting, believable characters to follow.  Also, there is more than action to these stories: some pretty intense philosophical themes are presented and woven around the characters.  So I'm sticking with them all this time, all the way to the (possibly bitter) ends...

Miami Dolphins Make Me Proud

I find myself in the rare condition of being optimistic about the Miami Dolphins and their prospects this 2013 season.  They have played only two games, to be sure...but their performance in both showed much improvement over the last few years.  Their quarterback Ryan Tannehill has poise under pressure and delivers accurate strikes, often for long yardage.  The offensive line seems to be protecting him pretty well so far, although their first opponents Cleveland and Indianapolis may not have the kind of defenses that would put it to a serious test yet.  I am VERY impressed by the Dolphin defense as well, especially their secondary.  They were able to contain the Colts' talented Andrew Luck in yesterday's 24-20 win enough to keep Miami in the game.  Also, I happened to look at the stats sheet for this game and was stunned to discover that Miami wasn't penalized at all the entire game!  This level of team discipline strongly reminds me of the great Don Shula era.

Just two games, I know, isn't enough to accurately predict how a team will end up at the end of the year.  But 2-0 is better than 0-2, something that I had been having to endure too much lately with Miami in recent years.  I don't know whether or not they'll end up making the playoffs, but I do know one thing: this team is fun to watch and follow!  And isn't that what any fan of any team should feel entitled to?

Delayed Seasonal Cooling Hampers Outdoor Running

As the weather very, very slightly begins to moderate its extreme summer temperatures, I am stepping out more and running outside around my neighborhood.  It is still very unpleasant in mid-afternoon: yesterday I put in three miles of outdoor running in 91 degrees of heat, although the humidity was relatively low at 46%.  As the month progresses, I plan to add more mileage to these outdoor runs.  But this naturally depends on the weather cooperating with me by seasonally cooling at least a little bit.  I had been hoping to participate in a local half-marathon race on September 28, but with less than two weeks left before it takes place I don't see, barring an unexpected dramatic climate change around here, how I would be able to handle the conditions.  We'll just have to wait and see.  In any event, there is another half-marathon scheduled for Gainesville on November 16: if the weather hasn't cooled appreciably by then, well...perhaps it might be time to move to Alaska...

About Putin's New York Times Editorial

At first, I did not read the September 11 editorial article that the New York Times printed that was written by Russian president Vladimir Putin, focusing on threatened U.S. military action against the Syrian regime.  All  I had been hearing, though, for the last few days, was how insulting he was to America and our president.  This was chiefly coming from the torrent of conservatives who, in the midst of an international crisis, have found little better to do themselves than to concentrate on ripping apart Obama for his ongoing handling of the situation.  Apparently, THAT'S not insulting to America and the President...but a foreign leader who obviously would have his own nation's interests to advance and would naturally entertain differing opinions IS.  I had been intrigued by the level of animosity leveled at Putin, especially considering how his proposal to alleviate the clamor for an American military strike that involved Syria turning over all of its chemical weapons has been taken up by our side and is apparently headed for agreement and implementation.  Shouldn't we instead thank the Russian president for his positive participation and see where peaceful diplomacy leads us before we blow everything up into smithereens, creating God knows what consequences down the road for us and the people we are proposing to help?

So I decided this morning to read Putin's op-ed piece and am left scratching my head as to why anyone would find it insulting or objectionable.  His tone was conciliatory and respectful, not at all arrogant as he has been accused.  His talking points were largely the same talking points, albeit more elegantly and cogently expressed, as those I have heard from both liberals and conservatives here in the United States who oppose American military intervention in Syria's civil war.  He was upbeat about reaching a peaceful settlement while working with the United States and was complimentary to President Obama.  The one passage at the end for which many in our own domestic media blasted Putin the most was his critical reference to the idea of American exceptionalism...a concept that ANYONE responsibly governing another country with its own legitimate policies to further would sanely take "exception" to.  He wasn't framing his objection to this by in any way putting down the United States, its people or government, but rather was trying to encourage us to reach out and relate to other countries before heading out on military adventures (my words, not his).

This has been an object lesson to me about how I cannot allow others, through secondhand criticism, to form my own opinions about something that someone else said or wrote.  This article by Putin had nothing of the supposedly inflammatory and demeaning rhetoric that had been attributed to him.  The experience has had a different outcome to me, though: it causes me to now look upon those who had publicly and very negatively spun it out of control in the media and politics with a more skeptical sense of scrutiny...

Tomorrow's Game Between Alabama and Texas A&M

Tomorrow afternoon we'll have the big early season game in college football between Alabama and Texas A&M.  Although these two teams are both in the Southeastern Conference, of which Florida is also a member, this game's outcome doesn't affect the Gator's prospects for the conference title since neither is in their division.  So on that score I'm neutral about who I would prefer to win this game.  Each team, however, resonates negatively with me on account of a particular member on each side: Texas A&M's quarterback Johnny Manziel and Alabama's head coach Nick Saban.  Were either team to be playing against a different one and not each other (except for SEC Eastern Division foes like Georgia or South Carolina), I would be vehemently rooting for their opponent with nearly the same fervor that I root for Florida when they play.  That being what it is, when game time comes around this Saturday afternoon, I will be figuratively holding my nose and picking one side: and there's really only one side, as I see it...

Nick Saban, after leaving the NFL's Miami Dolphins in a wreck after he abandoned them in mid-contract for fame and fortune at Alabama, has had a very successful run at for the last few years, even winning three of the last four national championships.  His Crimson Tide defeated Florida in the SEC championship game in 2009, while in 2011 his defense went after and INJURED then-starting quarterback John Brantley early in a regular season contest between the two.  What they did to our quarterback reminded me of what happened in the national championship game for the 2009 season when they knocked Colt McCoy, their opponent's (Texas) quarterback, out of the game with an injury through an excessive hit.  This seems to be Saban's strategy: if you think there's a chance you might not beat your opponent in a fair contest, then get dirty.  So although I dislike the impetuous, arrogant quarterback for Texas A&M, for tomorrow at least I'll be pulling quite vociferously for "Johnny Football" and his Aggies. Besides, Florida is off this Saturday, so I can devote my full attention to this Western Division contest.

I wrote in an article last year that I had forgiven Saban for betraying the Dolphins when he left them like that at the end of the 2006 season.  But feelings still sadly linger, and the man's ongoing gruff arrogance doesn't help things.  I think he is suffering from a "God" complex and yes, regards himself as one of the truly "good people of the world" (see article a couple of days ago), a mega-legend in his own mind.  A nice, humiliating loss tomorrow just might do him some good with his delusions. See, I'm really "pro-Saban" after all!

Jets-Pats Game Tonight

Tonight there's a NFL game pitting the New England Patriots against the New York Jets. These two teams, it is said, may be the most bitter rivals in football, at least on the professional level.  They're the two teams in the AFC East that have had the most success in recent years (although the Patriots have come to dominate this division).  The Jets-Pats feud is part of the New York-Boston collective sports rivalry that flows over into baseball, basketball, and hockey.  The Jets successfully accused New England, back in 2007, of illegally videotaping opposing teams' signal calling to help themselves with play strategies: the Patriots reacted to this by indignantly going (almost) all the way to an undefeated season, ironically falling to another New York team, the Giants, in one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history (and one of my favorite Super Bowls).  No there's no love lost between these two cities in the realm of sports.  But there's more...

New England is a tightly controlled, disciplined organization that keeps to itself and makes a great emphasis on letting its performance on the field speak for itself.  The New York Jets, on the other hand, starting with their head coach and filtering down through their player roster, are brash and outspoken, openly derisive of other teams and quick to criticize each other in the media.  One of their assistant coaches even once stuck his leg out and tripped up a Miami player who was running down the sidelines in a game a few years ago.  So these two franchises, apart from not liking each other, have two completely different ways of running things.  Seems like the Patriots have the upper hand here, as they win...and win...and win.

But there is one factor that, in my mind at least, unites these two: they are divisional rivals of "my" team, the Miami Dolphins.  I want BOTH to lose on any given game day, and it distresses me to know that, since they are playing each other, somebody's going to win.  But at least, excepting a highly improbable tie score, that also means there's going to be a loser as well.

It bothered me last Sunday that the Jets were able to capitalize on Tampa Bay mistakes and upset the Buc 18-17...although in retrospect the outcome may not be remembered as an upset: I'm not too optimistic about Tampa Bay's prospects this year.  New England edged out the other divisional rival, Buffalo, as well.  But the main thing is that the Dolphins won their game.  Ultimately, that's how it will play out for me this year: Miami has to keep winning...especially in those crucial head-to-head matchups against New England, New York, and Buffalo, each of whom the Dolphins play twice.  Once that starts to happen consistently, maybe the Pats and Jets will loosen their death grip on each other and start to throw a little hate in Miami's direction...

9/11 and the Good People of the World

I suppose a great percentage of the articles being put on the blogs, at least in this country, make some reference to the 9/11 attack in 2001.  There many different angles to analyzing this tragedy.   One is to examine how people can be so convinced of their own goodness and virtue that they can inflict untold suffering on others without any since of guilt or remorse for them. "The good people of the world", as I like to refer to them, are actually the most evil and dangerous because their own personal sense of self-righteous piety about themselves and the ideologies that prop them up rob them of the important virtues of self-examination and self-criticism.  To these people, the words "compromise" and "tolerance" are profanities, because employing them just might give them a more compassionate and empathetic perspective on others over whom they are so desperate to feel superior.

When I see TV shows replaying the 9/11 events that focus on the terrorists, they are typified by a smug arrogance that they are the "good people"...and as such any other (inferior) people don't matter, even to the extent that their very lives don't matter.  But the 9/11 terrorists are just one chilling example of "good people of the world" running rampant on everyone else. More on these "good people of the world" later...

Where Are the Hurricanes?

We were supposed to have all of these tropical cyclones forming out in the open Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean this hurricane season of 2013.  Instead, the opposite has happened: very few storms, and when they do form they are soon ripped apart by shearing winds in their paths.  Not that I'm complaining, though: I was here in 2004 when Florida was blasted by four powerful hurricanes and affected by the weather in three of them...with the last coming too close to home. 

It's kind of exciting when a hurricane is approaching and the so-called experts have its trajectory coming close to where you live.  Not only does the whole surrounding social fabric change to become hurricane-oriented, but the immediate weather changes as well, with strange greenness in the air, unpredictably shifting strong winds, and horizontal freakish sporadic rain bursts.  That's the interesting part.

The tedious part, though, is when the brunt of the storm passes over and causes often long-term power outages, local flooding, and downed trees.  Not fun.  When this happens, you go outside and there's a lot of debris lying around, businesses are often closed, and your freedom of movement is often restricted by the flooding and road closures.  And then there's the prospect of having to deal with your own property damage.  No, not fun.

So no, I'm not at all disappointed in this year's squelched hurricane season, for whatever the cause (although it bothers me that the meteorologists were so far off in their predictions). Sure, when I used to go to school as a kid, it would have been great to get some days off because of a hurricane.  But from 1962 to 1974, I remember only a brief time in 1964 when classes were cancelled due to Hurricane Cleo (I lived then near Miami).  I think that Betsy in 1965 happened in August just before the school year, and then year after year came without any hurricane striking (or even threatening to strike) south Florida.  After '74, who cares, I had already finished high school...

Let's see now, it's almost mid-September and we're only to the "G" storm...and it's floundering around Bermuda.  Ho-hum...

Good Game, Bad Game

Looking back on what has transpired in football this past weekend, I'm generally pleased, the overwhelming reason being that the Miami Dolphins won their season opener over Cleveland.  This was a team that Miami needed to defeat in their quest to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008.  There will be plenty of more difficult opponents later, and I don't expect the Dolphins to handle all of them.  So the strategy, as far as I am concerned, is to first do well inside their own division, garnering a 4-2 or 5-1 record there, and then beat the weaker teams elsewhere on the schedule.  So far, so good...they're undefeated...watch out '72 Dolphins (at least until NEXT weekend)!!

On the down side, the University of Florida Gators, in spite of controlling the total offensive yardage, line of scrimmage, and game clock for their game down in Miami against the Hurricanes, still managed to turn the ball over in crucial "red zone" situations enough times to lose 21-16.  The final score should have been Gators 37-14.  I don't think there's anything that frustrates me more in a game than when my team consistently turns the ball over...except perhaps for supposedly skillful receivers who suddenly are incapable of catching a football when it is lobbed over in their direction.  So Florida is 1-1...well, we all knew anyway that the "regular season" in a sense truly starts with their conference schedule.  But Tennessee, their opening opponent in the Southeastern Conference in a couple of weeks, is probably just as good as Miami.  Well, this comes, I suppose, with supporting a team: you're happy when they win and suffer when they lose. Still, should Florida figure out how not to turn the ball over willy-nilly, especially when they are about to score, they should do well in conference play...although at this stage of the year I can't imagine them ever winning the SEC championship, much less winning their division within it...

As for the rest of the football action, I only marginally care who wins or loses.  No, I dislike AFC East rivals to the Dolphins and usually root against them...and yes, I usually root for the other Florida teams Jacksonville and Tampa Bay.  And I still pull for the New York Giants consistently.  In none of these areas was there cause for much elation, though, as the Jags, Bucs, and Giants all lost and the AFC East did pretty well, the only loser (Buffalo) losing out to divisional rival New England.  But that's all right, as long as Miami does me well...

Follow-Up on Tebow Follow-Up

The other day I wrote how Tim Tebow needed to broaden his goals for the future regarding his participation in the National Football League as a player.  The simple, if sad, fact is that teams across the league do not want to use him as a quarterback.  Period.  But he is a good runner.  If you just take this year's preseason stats with the Patriots, he amassed 91 yards on 16 carries...that's not half bad: we're talking 5.7 yards/carry, and that's as a quarterback!  I've long thought of Tebow as a good straight-ahead, bulldog sort of runner on the order of Larry Csonka, and this isn't some flight of imaginative speculation on my part.  In college as a freshman, this was HIS ROLE as backup quarterback under coach Urban Meyer: come in on third or fourth downs with short yardage to go and pick up the first down, preferably by running.  He was wildly successful at this and contributed greatly to Florida's national championship that year (in 2006). Then, the following year as starting quarterback he garnered the Heisman Trophy and I suppose that went to his head.

If I had dreamed from childhood of being a star actor in films, I would naturally also have dreamed of playing the lead roles in them.  But as I grew up and MATURED, I could still dream of stardom but realize that the overwhelming drive was to act, to be actively employed in the industry I had become so enamored with in my younger years. Only a prima donna diva would say at the outset of their career that they would only work for anyone making a movie if they were given top billing from the getgo.  Yet this is essentially what Tebow is saying, as reports arise that, after he was cut from New England, another team approached him interested more in his running talents.  But he apparently declined them, still insisting on that "top billing".

This all gives me the impression that Tim Tebow doesn't really love football or want to make a positive contribution to a team, but rather is irrevocably smitten with the allure of personal stardom and media attention as the top dog quarterback...and nothing else will do.  Good luck with THAT, Tim...I'm outta here!

Vicarious Planetary Thrill Rides in Planetarium

It's been years since I've ridden a roller coaster, or any other theme park ride for that matter.  I miss those experiences, but not the lengthy travel times to and from the parks, not to mention the tedious, long lines for different rides once I manage to finally get inside a park.  But earlier this afternoon, I managed to get back at least of little of those old thrills without the long travel, long lines...or even the expense.  How? I paid a visit to my local Santa Fe College planetarium, where they were presenting a show titled SpacePark360: Geodesium Edition. It consisted of a set of nine imaginary thrill rides, one on each of the major planets (or one of their moons) starting with Mercury and going further out, with an extra one on "the way back" on Jupiter's volcanic moon Io.  Some of the rides were swinging rides, other were "twisters",  and the best were roller coasters.  Nine pretty cool rides set on exotic worlds.  Most of the planets and moons depicted as sites for the rides were interesting, although Venus and Jupiter were mostly a bunch of clouds...while Earth's rocket launch pad setting, coupled with the limited ride, wasn't very impressive.  But the scenes depicted for Mercury, Mars, Saturn (from Titan), Uranus (from its ring system), Neptune, (from Triton), and that finale on Io were vivid and memorable.  James Albury was there at the planetarium again, narrating the show...and he took my money at the entrance as well, automatically giving me the "senior" discount.  Oh well. 

I suppose that this vicarious thrill ride experience is probably going to be the way to go for me in the foreseeable future. The roller coaster on Neptune's moon Triton was a hanging coaster very similar to Montu at Busch Gardens, which incidentally is my favorite roller coaster ride of all time (I've ridden it 26 times, I believe). The others were more like that same park's Kumba coaster, also an old favorite.  I wasn't as happy with the non-coaster rides, although the opening one on Mercury reminded me of Pharaoh's Fury at Valdosta's Wild Adventures (I've ridden that one 27 times).  At the close of the show, Mr. Albury hinted that the company that produced this show is soon coming out with a sequel: I can hardly wait!!!

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart

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 27-year anniversary.  I love you!

Obama vs. Syria: Blocs in Congress

In President Obama's current campaign to get Congress to approve of his use of military force against the Syrian government on the pretext that they are engaged in chemical warfare, I discern various blocs within the Senate and House of Representatives that have their own peculiar motivations regarding how they would vote.  Here's how I see it...

OBAMA & MILITARY ACTION: PRO
Democrats: (1) More conservative, pro-military Democrats who traditionally vote for these types of resolutions and have vested political interests in funding the military-industrial complex, either because their states and districts contain military bases or ports or various companies are there that do contract work for the military.

Democrats: (2) More liberal democrats who are siding with the president because, well, they're Democrats and Obama's a Democrat...were Romney in there as president saying the same thing this group would probably oppose him.

Republicans: (1) War hawks like Senators McCain and Graham, who never saw an opportunity for war they didn't want us to jump into, support Obama on this...while criticizing him for delaying action and limiting it...as well as those GOP members of Congress who, like the Democrats, have military bases/ports and/or contract companies in their states/districts.

Republicans: (2) Establishment leaders who are consistent in supporting the national defense establishment and the military.

OBAMA & MILITARY ACTION: CON
Democrats & Pro-Democrat Independents:  Those who are traditionally skeptical about the value of military intervention and would oppose this proposed action regardless who was president.

Republicans: (1) Politicians who would support a Republican president like Bush but will flip-flop just because Obama's in there and they want to oppose him on EVERYTHING.

Republicans: (2) Chiefly within the tea party bloc, these only want military action if it specifically and narrowly is warranted for ONLY the national interests of the United States.  This includes those with a libertarian philosophy like Senator Rand.

Republicans: (3) Establishment pro-war politicians who are afraid of tea party opposition in their own party's primary elections.

From Both Parties: (1) Those who think that there isn't enough clear information to warrant military intervention.

From Both Parties: (2) Those who think that we're supporting the wrong side and that the rebels are infiltrated with Al-Qaeda, our true enemy.

*****
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Anger at Departed Football Coaches

In the football realm, sometimes fans can get more than a little hot under the collar when their team's head coach leaves them for "greener pastures", especially when the result seems to be the collapse of their own team.  Yet the reality doesn't always conform to this formula.  Nick Saban did ruin the Miami Dolphins following his two-year stint there after he insisted on and  received essentially complete managerial control over the team's personnel and operations and then suddenly abandoned his commitment to them to accept wealth and fame at the University of Alabama.  Dolphins fans, including me, felt betrayed and angry at him for his actions...although truth be told, I have greater axes to grind about injustices in my life than with this sort of vicarious grievance.  On the other hand, Saban had angered LSU fans just a couple of years earlier when he left them to coach for the Dolphins.  But there are a couple of important differences with LSU: he had brought them a national championship during his tenure there and he left the team essentially intact and strong...and they won two more championships under his successor Les Miles after he left.  But now I hear that LSU fans are angry because he left Miami to work for their divisional rival Alabama.  Well, Florida coach Steve Spurrier, who brought the school unprecedented gridiron success during his 12-year coaching era, has continued to enjoy enduring good feelings in the community not only after he left the Gators to try NFL coaching, but even after he got a job coaching OUR divisional rival South Carolina.  That's all good and fine, but what I don't get is the animosity around Gainesville directed at former coach Urban Meyer.

All Urban Meyer did during his six-year run at UF was to win TWO national championships and give the school a very strong edge in recruitment nationwide over others.  Toward the end of his time here, he had some undisclosed personal health issues that interfered with his final season.  After leaving Florida, Meyer evidently was able enough to handle those personal issues and, after a brief time as a competent television sports analyst, was ready to take on the Ohio State head coaching position when it became available (because of scandal that sacked the previous coach).  Last year was his first season and he was very successful, taking his team to a 12-0 record in the face of probation that eliminated them from national championship consideration or a bowl game appearance.  I never heard anyone talk about how we're hoping that Urban does well in his new job and how we appreciate what he accomplished at Florida.  But I'll go ahead and say it, anyway.  I am glad that Urban Meyer is prospering in his new role at Ohio State.  I wish him success there, but since his school has such a powderpuff schedule this year and they could be rivals in the BCS determination as to who gets to eventually play for the national championship, I'm rooting for his team to unexpectedly lose at least a couple of games for the sake of improving Florida's very real prospects this year.  Nothing personal, Urban, but football is football: I'm rooting against Spurrier's team, too...

Broncos-Ravens Mark 2013 NFL Regular Season Debut

As I retreat from having to deal with the looming "limited" war with Syria and the strange, unsettling political alliances being forged between left and right to oppose (or support) it, I find myself this afternoon with an easy topic about which to write: tonight begins the regular season in the National Football League!  We're getting a head start on the weekend action on Thursday, and with a great pairing: the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens against the Denver Broncos, a team and franchise that has rattled me a bit during the last couple of years.

Baltimore has lost several starters due to retirement, including their standout linebacker Ray Lewis.  But they seem to be on the right track with their lineup, and it makes me wonder why other franchises flounder around for years, seeming to be in a perpetual rebuilding process from one disappointing season to the next (I'm thinking chiefly about the Miami Dolphins, but there are plenty of other examples).  I tend to root for the Ravens, largely in gratitude for the fact that in 2007, when the lowly Dolphins were 0-14 with two weeks to go to a winless season, they had the presence of mind to play each other with Baltimore bowing in defeat...to my enduring gratitude.  Of course, the same team was a major thorn in Miami's side the following year when they beat them twice, including Miami's improbable first and only playoff game that year.  Still, I have a warm spot in my heart for Baltimore.  I can't say the same about Denver...

Being a Gator fan in the 1990's when Peyton Manning was the quarterback for conference divisional rival Tennessee, I got sick of Manning getting all of the accolades in spite of the fact that he never could beat us.  But he was good, real GOOD...and I might have gone over to his side had he not joined up with a team in the NFL that true Dolphins fans despise: the Colts.  Still, he moved on to Denver, and as a Dolphin fan I have no trouble with that franchise.  What I DO have a problem with is how they used Tim Tebow to reestablish a winning tradition during the 2011 season...and then unceremoniously dumped him immediately afterward in favor of King Peyton.  Then they swaggered around acting like they might as well just cancel the 2012 season and crown themselves champion!  What really happened was different, though: the Broncos under Manning were good enough to win their division again and make the playoffs (as Tebow did with them the previous season).  But a funny thing happened on their way to Super Bowl glory: "my" Baltimore Ravens tripped them up!

I won't be able to watch much of tonight's game as I have to go to work...but I know who I'm supporting: Baltimore!

And sure...I'll tune in from time to time on the "other" channels to see how we're sinking into war once again as the war drums intensify like some impending Jumanji game...

Obama Push for Syria Strike

The push to give President Obama the political backing he wants to attack Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons on its own people during its civil war is now going on full swing.  I haven't been ignoring this important issue, but have been hesitant to write about it for a couple of reasons.  One, I don't know all the facts; in a situation like this I'm left depending on the words of those in authority who have access to information, much of it classified, that I am not privy to.  This is similar to the time leading up to George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq more than ten years ago, when as it turned out that the needed information was indeed there...it just wasn't true!  Two, although arguments have been made that not striking Syria will discredit U.S. efforts to dissuade Iran from developing nuclear weapon capability and will embolden terrorists who would then see us as weak, I could counter-argue that by attacking Syria we would be strengthening terrorists within that country's borders who would then become our de facto allies (and later attack us).  No, I don't see Syria as directly threatening us, and in this I am astonished (and more than a little disturbed) to find myself siding with far-right tea party politicians, the most notorious of them being Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. That in itself is enough to make me want to turn my head from this issue and think of something else (like football or the weather)...

College Football 2013 Season Begins

The first weekend in the college football season has passed, with the usual assortment of mainly lopsided matchups topped off with a few meaningful contests.  And a couple of those games pitting major schools against small ones turned meaningful, too, when they resulted in upsets.  Here's my take on the games that interested me.

Ohio State won their mismatch 40-20 while Oregon ran the score up on their itsy-bitsy opponent 66-3...so naturally the latter passed the former in the polls without either really being tested on a major level. The Florida Gators were a rare team in the Southeastern Conference in that they scheduled a relatively minor school, Toledo, for their opener.  They prevailed yawningly (but soundly) 24-6.  Because Florida's game plan doesn't exactly light up the stadium (or the TV) with passing fireworks, though, the poll voters tend to punish them.  So despite their win, they dropped in the polls from #10 to #12, even staying behind divisional rival Georgia, a loser in an exciting season opener against Clemson.  Alabama, although challenged for much of their game by Virginia Tech, ended it by pulling away and making the score look like a rout.  Florida State, Miami, and Louisville all were impressive in their openers, while LSU won a high-scoring game against TCU.

People can go on all they want to about how great a quarterback that prima donna diva Johnny Manziel (of Texas A&M) is, but I can't see how he is better than ANY of the following: Clemson's Tajh Boyd, Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater, or Florida State's freshman sensation Jameis Winston...all putting on impressive performances in their respective season openers.  I can't see how any of these schools' fans would ever wish they had Johnny Headcase instead of the stars they are blessed with...

My Florida Gators will be playing down in south Florida against Miami next week.  I expect them to grind out a win in that game as well, but I wouldn't expect them to be heavily featured on ESPN for spectacular highlights, though...

My favorite games to watch were the opener between North Dakota State and Kansas State and Georgia vs. Clemson.  Kansas State found themselves upset as the Bison came from ten points behind in the second half and consumed most of the fourth quarter in a masterful drive that both put them finally ahead and gave the Wildcats little time to come back.  As for Georgia-Clemson, I was intrigued by Clemson's home opening tradition of busing their team around the stadium to its entrance at the top of a hill...and then rushing en masse onto the field.  The only problem with this traditional pregame ritual was that it was so hot and humid at that time that everyone, including the coaches, were sweating buckets before the game even began!

Tebow Released, Needs Goal Adjustment

Tim Tebow, after the last exhibition game of the preseason, was released by the New England Patriots and can now be a free agent.  He thanked that franchise for giving him an opportunity there and still claims to be relentless about becoming an NFL quarterback.  I don't think Tebow is quite mentally in the place he needs to be in order to fulfill that stated lifelong dream to be an NFL quarterback.  In the first place, the former Florida Gator Heisman Trophy winner has already BEEN an NFL quarterback, leading his team to the playoffs (and a playoff victory) back in 2011.  It's like me saying that I want to be a marathon runner and, having successfully finished a marathon, feeling at least that bit of personal satisfaction at having accomplished this.  Tim Tebow doesn't seem to look at it this way at all, though...and that is one of the problems I think that causes other teams in the league to want to avoid taking any chance in picking him up.  As far as he is concerned, he has a one-track mind on the subject: become a regular starting quarterback for a team...and any deviation from that isn't acceptable AT ALL to him.  Given his obvious glaring shortcomings at reading defenses and passing accurately, I would have thought this gifted athlete, who is much more than a competent rusher on offense, would be more realistic with his goals and broaden them to become a regular starting PLAYER in the NFL...or even a nonstarter who is frequently used.  That would give other teams the flexibility that they would like to have to insert him into different offensive schemes and allow him to be the asset to them that he is quite capable of being.  But maybe it's going to take Mr. Tebow hitting rock bottom as the prospects for NFL this season completely dry up before he swallows what is clearly an enormous pride about himself and adjusts his goals. He has certainly already had ample opportunity to improve upon his quarterbacking skills over the last three years and with expert instruction, but to little avail...

This may be an shining, if bitter, example of what Clint Eastwood's Harry Callahan character repeatedly said in the movie Magnum Force: "A man's GOT to know his own limitations". We all have our own particular limitations, don't we, and we aren't suffering from a negative or defeatist self-image if we simply recognize them and work around them.  Tim Tebow, as I have stated a few days ago, is an asset to the NFL.  He has a great, clean image as a role model, he is a positive encourager for others, he generates interest and excitement for the game, he rises up to pressure in close games as a clutch performer, and he is one heck of a runner.  If he were only to recognize where he IS good at and sell himself on that, I think he'd be doing a lot a better...

Follow-Up on Nova

The Delphinus nova discovered a few days ago has dwindled down in magnitude to the point where it can no longer be seen by the naked eye...at least by MY naked eye here within the city.  On a number of nights when it was brighter I walked outside to view it, only to be confronted by a sky filled with clouds.  Only one night was there a clear sky, but unfortunately I was then in too much of a hurry to get somewhere to stop and take an unhurried look.  The nova never did get to be very bright against the backdrop of stars and at its brightest would have appeared as a faint connecting star between the already-faint tiny constellations of Sagitta and Delphinus.  Still, I regret having missed out on seeing it.  I suppose, if I want to, I can take out my binoculars in the next night or two and compare my observations of the section it's in with a detailed star map, but I'm not all that enthusiastic about finding a point that doesn't fit on a map and then automatically proclaiming it to be that nova...

Slow Down, You Talk Too Fast

I'm sitting in this Starbucks, see, huddled off in a back corner, wondering whether I'm beginning to go senile at this relatively young age of (nearly) 57.  It started on my drive down here when, literally out of the blue, it began to ran.  Sure, there were some puffy clouds to be seen around, but nothing to indicate any impending precipitation.  Still, it looked as if my original idea of sitting in the wide-open outdoors to drink my coffee and study (including writing this blog article) would be for naught.  And the prospects for finding a seat ANYWHERE inside this Starbucks likewise dimmed with the freshly falling rain, as it is a popular hangout in this part of town and is usually filled to capacity on Sunday afternoons.  I nevertheless pulled into the parking lot: who knows, I might find a spot anyway.  And as I said, I did...in an obscure corner of the java joint.

So anyway, I'm sitting here, writing out some foreign language sentences for practice, which is something I do as a daily routine.  The rest of the place is packed with customers, some of whom are studying by themselves (or pretending to do so) and some of whom are engaging in sociable conversations.  As I sit here studying OTHER languages, an eerie feeling begins to creep up on me: everyone else around me is speaking English, but at the fast rate that they are speaking, their words are almost incomprehensible to me...almost as if they were speaking an exotic tongue.

I've long had a block when it came to picking up and understanding normal conversation when I hear it in other languages...even those languages that I have studied and can comprehend when it is spoken in a more formal setting on radio and TV news broadcasts.  It's almost as if, regardless of whatever language they are speaking, the talkers are in a completely different gear of communication from anything else.  And now, today, the same troubling feeling started coming to me as others were SPEAKING ENGLISH so fast in conversation that I could scarcely make out their words.  Then a universal principle hit me...

It seems that in nervous social conversation, people regardless of their culture or language tend to talk at a breakneck pace, almost seemingly necessitating a psychic link among themselves from them to understand what each other are saying.  The speed of speech can get very, very fast...to the point sometimes that a native language can sound foreign.  That's a little scary for me...

Then again, there is possibly a more mundane, reasonable interpretation for all this.  When people are conversing in person, a great portion of the communication that is going on between them is unspoken but rather revealed through facial expressions, gestures, and body language.  As a matter of fact, I wonder sometimes if these aren't the main elements in the communication and not the actual words.  In any event, when I'm sitting there with my back to others, I'm not picking up on these integral elements of the interactions between these people and, quite possibly, this may make their spoken language less clear as a result...