Evening Trolley Tour in D.C.

During our visit to Washington, D.C. last month, Melissa and I spent one evening on their Monuments by Moonlight trolley tour. It was a worthwhile experience and I recommend it to anyone stopping by there, especially first-timers...

First of all, we walked from our hotel just south of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, cut across the mall, and walked down Louisiana Avenue to Union Station, one of the must-visit places in town.  This grand work of architecture not only feeds into the city's Metro train line, but is also a major Amtrak depot, where travelers can easily board trains to northeastern cities.  Our trolley's location was easy to find once we entered the cavernous building, and we had a short dinner at one of their many food court eateries before getting in line for our bus tour.  Monuments by Moonlight uses several trolleys...I think we hit the jackpot with ours because of our excellent driver/tour guide, an elderly gentleman who calls himself "H.W.".  Our bus had windows with clear plastic hanging flaps for windows...helpful for protection against very cold conditions but an impediment to good photography, so we collectively decided to roll them all up and make it an open-air experience.  Starting in the eastern Capitol/Supreme Court Building/Library of Congress end of the Mall, we eventually wound our way around the various museums, monuments, and other sights (including loads of massive administrative buildings) with H.W. making incisive, interesting comments along the way.  When we came to the Lincoln Memorial, the trolley stopped and we all got off for a few minutes as we climbed the many steps to reach ol' Abe and shoot some pics.  Looking out we saw the Washington Monument past the Reflecting Pool and the distant Capitol Building beyond it.  Time constraints kept us from visiting the nearby Korean Memorial...instead we went for the famous Vietnam Memorial, not only catching the statues of the three soldiers but also the wall with the names of the fallen and a nearby stature dedicated to nurses in war.  After we reboarded, H.W. took us across the Potomac River into Arlington, a city with a towering downtown (unlike Washington, no height restraints for buildings there) and into the Arlington National Cemetery, where we somberly looked out the window at the seemingly endless rows of graves.  Then we made a brief stop at the Iwo Jima Memorial, a large beautiful statue recreating the famous flag-planting scene from that World War II Pacific battle.  Upon reentering the nation's capital, the trolley made one final stop, at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial...what a special experience that was, with many of Dr. King's great sayings inscribed into a wall and the juxtaposition of the Mountain of Despair with the Stone of Hope...and the Reverend's statue rising out of it.  And facing the King Memorial across an inlet was the Jefferson Memorial.  After getting back on the bus, we rode by the World War II Memorial and made our way to the area of town north of the Mall and east of the White House.  The White House was a major disappointment on this tour because it is now ringed by so many layers of security that we could only see it briefly, from a distance.  As we made our way back toward Union Station, H.W. pointed out the Trump International Hotel, Franklin D. Roosevelt's original very small memorial at a street corner, and the Newseum, among many other sights.  And then H.W. let us and a woman and her daughter out early before returning to the station, making our return walk back to the hotel much shorter and direct...what a class act!

After experiencing this tour, Melissa and I decided to spend the next day at the nearby (to our hotel) Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, largely from H.W.'s intriguing commentary on the place as we rode by on our trolley tour.  But more about that in a different article.  If you're going to visit Washington D.C. for a few days, I recommend you first get on a tour trolley in order to give you a better sense of what's out there and to help you with your itinerary.  This particular tour, Monuments by Moonlight, was a great, memorable experience...

Just Finished Reading The Whistler by John Grisham and Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson

This week I finished reading two books that have recently been published, but which are very different from each other: The Whistler by John Grisham and Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson...

John Grisham's 2016 legal novel The Whistler is set in the Florida panhandle as an obscure, small Indian tribe gains federal recognition and builds its own very lucrative casino.  A state board of lawyers is investigating a local judge on tips from a whistle-blower: this judge may be collaborating with an organized crime network in the area that is also suspected of being the power behind the casino.  Lacy Stoltz and Hugo Hatch, the very likable protagonists here who work for the board, don't realize the extent of trouble and danger they're in for as they stumble onto something much bigger than they could have imagined.  Like most Grisham stories, this one gets a strong "thumbs up" from me...and I also appreciate that it wasn't too lengthy, something I can't say about the next book...

Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson is currently in the middle of writing a long series, The Stormlight Archive, with very, very long books.  His 2017 Oathbringer, which I just finished reading, is a whopping 1248 pages in the hardback version...and Sanderson reportedly had to whittle down much of what he had written to get it that short.  This series is very intriguing with humans and a humanoid race called the Parshendi in a state of conflict with each other on the planet of Roshar.  Although the technology is typically at the relatively primitive level found in most fantasy series, there is something called "stormlight" which, caused by strange, massive storms that periodically sweep the land, infuse special light into gems that certain gifted people can draw from to achieve special powers.  There are nonmaterial entities called "spren" that bond with people in a similar way to the "demons" in Philip Pullman's His Dark Material series. The heroes and their adversaries have varying degrees of ability in using stormlight...which is tied in to the spren...and tend to specialize, much like the Marvel Comics superheroes.  I don't mind the length of the books, but it is pretty difficult to keep up with all the characters and special "rules" that govern stormlight, gems, and spren, not to mention the very detailed history that the author keeps bringing up.  My main goal is to try and remember the gist of what happened in Oathbringer so that when the next installment comes out, probably in 2020, I won't be completely lost...

I've also begun reading my first Tom Clancy novel, which is also his first: The Hunt for Red October.  Never saw the movie, nor any other Clancy film adaptation for that matter.  But I like his writing so far.  I'm also plodding through Joe Abercrombie's Last Argument of Kings, which should close out his First Law trilogy...unless he was lying about it being a trilogy.  And I'll probably be starting another John Grisham book soon...

Quote of the Week...from a Wyoming Woman at a Trump Rally

I can't really say that anything he says is true, but I trust him.    ---Wyoming woman attending a recent rally by President Trump.

Well, the 2018 midterm elections are over and there are mixed results to muse upon.  For me as an American who is very distrustful of this current presidential administration, I am gratified that the House of Representatives has gone over to Democratic Party control...at least one part of our three branches of government will be able to act as a check on the executive branch, the way the framers of our Constitution had intended...don't look for any help from the Republicans in that regard.  It looks, however, as if the U.S. Senate will add as many as three seats to the Republican majority there, due in large part to the effect that Donald Trump had on the numerous states that were in play and which he chose to hold repeated rallies in.  His message was one of rage and fear: rage that Brett Kavanaugh had been treated unfairly in his confirmation process and fear that the caravan of asylum-seeking refugees currently traipsing through southern Mexico poses a grave threat to our national security.  Combining this with the bald-faced lie that Republicans were also for enforcing health insurance for those with pre-existing conditions...something that they have never done in Congress but which they actually repeatedly fought against...it all worked to convince enough dupes to give his candidates in Florida and Arizona razor-thin Senate victories while possibly tipping the balance in Texas.  On the other hand, in spite of Trump's extensive campaigning in Nevada and Montana, the Senate races in both states went Democratic.  And then again, millions upon millions of Americans...like the woman espousing the above quote...don't care whether or not Trump is lying to them since they idolize him.  There is definitely a very, very creepy cult of personality surrounding this president, and although I am disappointed at the Senate losses I am at least grateful that he won't be able to run roughshod all over this country to the extent that he has for his first two years.  Even with as many as three additional seats to their side, the Senate Republicans won't be able to do any more than they've already been doing...after all, they just confirmed a very controversial Trump Supreme Court nominee by a 50-48 vote. And for at least a couple of years we won't be seeing awful legislation rammed through the House and Senate...anything that makes it to the President's desk for his signature (or veto) will need to have a bipartisan consensus of support.  One potentially big problem: the "old" Republican-controlled House of Representatives still has nearly two months to do mischief before the new one is sworn in at the beginning of next year...don't be surprised if Trump and his cohorts try to slip some really bad stuff through during this lame duck period. And only a day after the elections the President fired his attorney general Jeff Sessions, against whom he has carried an irrational grudge for properly recusing himself from investigating Russia's role in the 2016 campaign, and replaced him with a political loyalist who has openly been highly critical of the Mueller investigation...

Now I'm seeing that there's a big brouhaha here in Florida about the Senate race between Rick Scott and Bill Nelson, in which the Republican governor is currently holding a 15,000 vote lead.  The Republicans are alleging election fraud and Scott has filed suit...looks like there will be a recount.  As for me, I wanted Nelson to win and retain his Senate seat, but I think he truly lost the election and Scott should replace him in January...

BUT WAIT, I spoke too soon! Apparently, in Arizona the slow vote-counting has switched the lead from Republican to Democrat in that state's US Senate race.  Maybe I should reconsider what's going on in Florida, too...is the counting still going on there as well?

11/4 Sermon on Wisdom, Part 2

At The Family Church here in Gainesville, our senior pastor, Philip Griffin, continued his sermon series about wisdom as the Bible presents it...primarily through the Old Testament book of Proverbs. The topic for last Sunday was anger, a subject that has many scriptural references.  The opening, core verse that began this message was Proverbs 29:8: Mockers stir up a city, but the wise turn away anger. Pastor Philip examined anger's destructiveness, the difficulty it causes, and how to defuse it, noting that while the current climate in our country seems to one of anger, it is also present in our homes and lives...

In discussing the destructive nature of anger, Philip brought up three aspects: it destroys one's  relationships, damages the body, and dominates life.  When we hold on the anger, it starts to holds onto us. Anger always has a target...often it is someone close by and not the original reason. Stored anger can lead to eruptions of disproportionate rage.  There are many ailments aggravated by buried anger.  It can distort our own judgment as we try to justify it. Anger's difficulty consists of the fact that it can neither be vented, buried, nor held on to...venting doesn't reduce anger but rather only feeds the flame. Burying anger is like holding on to a live bomb when we really need to get rid of it as quickly as possible. But there is good news at the end: this insidious emotion, which can become a bad habit to the point where it is an obsession, can be defused. How? Well, as our pastor concluded, by depending on God's grace and power we can choose to overlook offenses, submit to the Holy Spirit's control, and extend to others what Christ has given us. The memories and experiences of different offenses we'll still continue to note, but we can decide not to dwell on them.  Anger grieves the Holy Spirit and prevents him from working in our lives.  And we readily and liberally forgive others their offences as Christ, who first loved us and forgave us ours.  All of these points Pastor Philip brought up in a very powerful, thought-provoking message...

You can watch this sermon through the church's YouTube video link...just click on it: [TFC Videos].  The Family Church, at 2022 SW 122nd Street, holds its Sunday morning services at 9 and 10:30.  They open with praise and worship music, then proceed to the weekly message and opportunities for prayer.  Discipleship courses are available through the week as well as small groups where the previous message is discussed.  Free coffee is there as well, before and between services in the hospitality room the right of the entrance.  And there's lots of very friendly people...

Weekly Short Stories: '39 Sci-Fi, Part 6

I concluded my reading of the retrospective science fiction anthology Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 1 (1939) with four tales.  One deals with a future apocalypse, one with the nature of personal identity, one with the limitations of power, and the last an optimistic look ahead at space exploration and settlement...a pretty decent range of themes.  By the way, this will be the first and last of the Asimov Presents books that feature Robert Heinlein stories: the next one, for 1940, was to include three more but were blocked from publication.  Maybe someday I'll review them, too.  Anyway, here are the final four short stories in the 1939 book...

RUST by Joseph E. Kelleam
X-120 is a robot, built for combat, one of only a few still functioning on an Earth of the future, now completely devoid of human life.  His companions G-3a and L-1716 are in worse shape than X-120, the former slowly hobbling on one remaining leg and the latter with broken arms.  Only humans, who had created them, could also maintain and repair them.  Why did the humans die out? Well, I'll give you a clue: watch the Matrix or Terminator movie series for similar themes.  This brief story is special in that it presents the world through the viewpoint of a machine...much like Eando Binder's I, Robot that opened this book.  But whereas the robot in that story was benevolent toward humanity, well...

THE FOUR-SIDED TRIANGLE by William F. Temple
This is a story about a romance triangle between three inventor/scientists: erratic and ingenious Bill, the steady and dependable Will, and Joan, with whom Bill and Will are in love.  Their current project is to exactly duplicate objects, but Bill wants to go a step further and duplicate life...his efforts are fruitless as all the "exact" duplicates of the rabbits he is working on turn out to be nonliving.  In the meantime, Joan has married Will and Bill is beside himself with grief over losing her.  But if he could make an exact copy of Joan after he solves his problem of keeping the duplicates alive...an interesting story premise.  But I was disappointed in the ending...I think the author missed out on a great opportunity here...

STAR BRIGHT by Jack Williamson
A harassed husband and father meekly tries to give his unappreciative spouse and (well, his daughter seems to understand him) whatever they want, but can never get their respect.  One night he wishes on a shooting star for miracles...and the tiny meteor hits him in the forehead and lodges in his brain.  Then he discovers that he can create things by willing them into existence...his only impediment is his own imperfect knowledge of their composition.  He foolishly lets his family in on his new powers and his problems cascade. The story's ending revealed a fair amount of insight on the part of the author about how codependent behavior can harm all of the concerned parties...take away the enabler and see what happens...

MISFIT by Robert Heinlein
Heinlein liked to write optimistic, upbuilding stories about space exploration...this is one of his earliest.  A crew of young volunteers, misfits in their life on Earth, are recruited to land on a small asteroid, build a base on it, and move it to a strategic orbit between Earth and Mars.  One of the young men is revealed to be a mathematical prodigy: his mental calculations eventually save the expedition from destruction.  Misfit was written without taking into account the revolution in computers and digital technology that has become commonplace in today's world, making such an ability redundant if not obsolete.  This genius who saved the day in Heinlein's fictional tale, without extensive training in programming and systems, would probably still be regarded as a devalued "misfit" in our real time...

Next week I'll start on the best short science fiction from 1940...

Tuesday's List: The U.S. Capitol Building's Statues by State

On our visit to Washington, D.C. last Wednesday we took a tour of the Capitol building.  Our tour guide was very informative and gave us a lot of background information about the sights...including the many statues there, some ringing the National Statuary Hall (next to the Rotunda, which is the room directly under the dome and which itself is ringed by famous historical paintings) and others in different locations, including the very large visitors entrance section.  Each of the fifty states is allotted two statues to send and display in the Capitol building and the District of Columbia gets one.  From time to time a state may opt to change one of their statues, sometimes because a historical figure becomes unpopular and sometimes because a better figure is chosen to replace the former.  A special at-large statue has also been added to the National Statuary Hall: that of civil rights activist Rosa Parks (see above photo). I accessed a great list on Wikipedia...here's a link to that site: [Capitol Statues].  It was interesting how diverse the selections were...they weren't all politicians, but also included people from all walks of life who had distinguished themselves, including several Native Americans.  Here's a shortened form of that list, by state...

Alabama
HELEN KELLER
JOSEPH WHEELER

Alaska
EDWARD LEWIS "BART" BARTLETT
ERNEST GRUENING

Arizona
BARRY GOLDWATER
EUSEBIO KINO

Arkansas
URIAH MILTON ROSE
JAMES PAUL CLARK

California
RONALD REAGAN
JUNIPERO SERRA

Colorado
FLORENCE SABIN
JACK SWIGERT

Connecticut
ROGER SHERMAN
JONATHAN TRUMBULL

District of Columbia
FREDERICK DOUGLAS

Delaware
JOHN MIDDLETON CLAYTON
CAESAR RODNEY

Florida
JOHN GORRIE
EDMUND KIRBY...to be replaced by
MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE

Georgia
CRAWFORD LONG
ALEXANDER HAMILTON STEPHENS

Hawaii
FATHER DAMIEN
KAMEHAMEHA I

Idaho
GEORGE LAIRD SHOUP
WILLIAM BORAH

Illinois
JAMES SHIELDS
FRANCES E. WILLARD

Indiana
OLIVER P. MORTON
LEW WALLACE

Iowa
SAMUE JORDAN KIRKWOOD
NORMAN BORLAUG

Kansas
JOHN JAMES INGALLS
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

Kentucky
HENRY CLAY
EPHRAIM MCDOWELL

Louisiana
HUEY PIERCE LONG
EDWAR DOUGLAS WHITE

Maine
WILLIAM KING
HANNIBAL HAMLIN

Maryland
CHARLES CARROLL
JOHN HANSON

Massachusetts
SAMUEL ADAMS
JOHN WINTHROP

Michigan
LEWIS CASS
GERALD FORD

Minnesota
HENRY MOWER RICE
MARIA SANFORD

Mississippi
JAMES ZACHARIAH GEORGE
JEFFERSON DAVIS

Missouri
THOMAS HART BENTON
FRANCIS PRESTON BLAIR, JR.

Montana
CHARLES MARION RUSSELL
JEANNETTE RANKIN

Nebraska
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
J. STERLING MORTON

Nevada
PATRICK ANTHONY MCCARRAN
SARAH WINNEMUCCA

New Hampshire
JOHN STARK
DANIEL WEBSTER

New Jersey
PHILIP KEARNY
RICHARD STOCKTON

New Mexico
PO'PAY
DENNIS CHAVEZ

New York
GEORGE CLINTON
ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON

North Carolina
ZEBULON BAIRD VANCE
CHARLES BRANTLEY AYCOCK

North Dakota
JOHN BURKE
SAKAKAWEA

Ohio
JAMES A. GARFIELD
THOMAS EDISON

Oklahoma
SEQUOYAH
WILL ROGERS

Oregon
JASON LEE
JOHN MCLOUGHLIN

Pennsylvania
ROBERT FULTON
JOHN PETER GABRIEL MUHLENBERG

Rhode Island
NATHANAEL GREENE
ROGER WILLIAMS

South Carolina
JOHN C. CALHOUN
WAKE HAMPTON

South Dakota
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON BEADLE
JOSEPH WARD

Tennessee
ANDREW JACKSON
JOHN SEVIER

Texas
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
SAM HOUSTON

Utah
BRIGHAM YOUNG
PHILO T. FARNSWORTH

Vermont
ETHAN ALLEN
JACOB COLLAMER

Virginia
ROBERT EDWARD LEE
GEORGE WASHINGTON

Washington
MARCUS WHITMAN
MOTHER JOSEPH

West Virginia
JOHN EDWARD KENNA
FRANCIS HARRISON PIERPONT

Wisconsin
JACQUES MARQUETTE
ROBERT M. LAFOLLETTE, SR.

Wyoming
ESTHER HOBART MORRIS
WASHAKIE

At Large
ROSA PARKS

A Few Final Notes Before Tuesday's Midterm Elections

Well, election day for the 2018 midterms is finally upon us...I plan to vote, how about you if you're registered and haven't already through absentee ballot or early voting?  I have repeatedly hammered through the idea that if people as an electorate would regularly and dutifully get out and vote, regardless of the intensity of their own feelings about the election and its candidates and issues, then we would have a much smoother-running and more representative government with greater continuity.  Instead, the off-year elections (midterms) see voter turnout precipitously drop off, especially among the younger, 18-29 age group.  It's ludicrous that Democrat Barack Obama could win Florida in 2008, Tea Party Republican Rick Scott eek out a razor-thin victory for governor in 2010, Obama win Florida again in 2012...and Scott get reelected two years later!  Had folks not stayed at home for those mid-term elections in 2010 and 2014, I doubt that Scott would have ever had a chance for election.  And regarding the increasingly hostile, toxic atmosphere now permeating close races...

Let's take two races going on in my local area: the US House of Representatives District 3 seat, which includes Gainesville, is currently held by Republican Ted Yoho, who is running for reelection.  His Democratic opponent is Yvonne Hayes-Hinson.  But since Yoho seems comfortably ahead in this race, you see nary an ad...much less an attack ad...from either side.  But in our State Senate District 8, the incumbent, Republican Keith Perry, is in a closer race against Democratic challenger Kayser Enneking.  Both strike me as very nice, decent people who want to implement their respective ideas for the greater good...but you wouldn't know this through their ads vilifying each other.  So why be mean like this?  Some will blame the political campaign consultants and the politicians...I blame the people out there who won't bother to vote unless they can get an emotional rush out of the experience.  And in a close race, the easiest way to ratchet up your side's turnout is to raise their irrational anger, fear, and contempt levels against the other side.   And, sad to say, it often works...sure did in 2016!

As to how well President Trump will do in urging voters to support his Republican Party candidates, keep in mind that he himself has publicly stated that this election is all about him.  But in 2016, both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton had very large disapproval ratings...ultimately what won it for Trump was that more voters disliked Hillary than him in a very small number of key states.  But voters aren't choosing between Clinton and Trump for president this time around: it's Trump and whether you like him or not...he's not as likely to be as appealing standing on his own.  On the other hand, I'm not convinced that pro-Democratic voters will actually rise up in the numbers they need to swing the election enough to give that party control of the House of Representatives. And they might as well forget about retaking the Senate: the Republicans are due to gain some seats there.  No, like Michael Moore, I'm pretty skeptical about what will happen this Tuesday...

Since Tuesday is Election Day, I think I'll conclude by making a prediction...partially formulated by what happened in 2016.  It's this: regardless how the elections turn out, President Trump will claim personal victory and total credit for himself...and then go on to state that it all was rigged and that there was massive voter fraud.  Then he'll order another phony investigation, just like he did in 2017.  You know it's coming...

Just Finished Reading The Runaway Jury by John Grisham

Having served on a jury earlier this year (and not liking it one bit), when I ran across John Grisham's 1996 legal novel The Runaway Jury I couldn't resist and decided to read it.  After all, when stuck in the courthouse I myself felt like running away...but from the jury, not with it.  Grisham's meaning, though, was to describe a jury whose deliberations and decisions went way beyond the parameters expected by both the judge and the opposing attorneys.  Another difference is that my jury experience was of a criminal trial and this book concerned a civil one, with big business, money and publicity playing major roles...

The trial in The Runaway Jury has the plaintiff, the widow of a longtime chain smoker, suing the tobacco company making and selling his favorite brand of cigarette.  It's all seen as a test case for the tobacco industry and anti-smoking litigation, and as such both sides employ extraordinary means to create a jury that will deliver them a favorable verdict.  It seemed pretty creepy to me that there are consulting firms for investigating people in jury pools, even following them around and interviewing neighbors and coworkers concerning their lifestyles, habits, and opinions...what an invasion of privacy!  Grisham exposes not only this form of manipulation but also delves into jury tampering during the trial as well.  But what makes his story special is that he has inserted a mysterious wild card jurist, Nicolas Easter, into the picture.  Just who exactly is Easter, a young man with no discernible past who seems determined to throw the proceedings into complete chaos?  And what about Marlee, a young woman who seems to know everything going on with the jurors...even after they are sequestered? 

I'm getting to be quite a fan of John Grisham...he might now be my second favorite author behind Stephen King.  I heard they made a movie based on this book in 2003, starring among others John Cusack, Gene Hackman, and Dustin Hoffman.  But the trial in the film isn't based on smoking litigation but rather a shooting, making me not even want to watch it.  But do read the book: it's one of Grisham's better ones...

Some Reactions to Visiting Washington, D.C.

Our trip to Washington, D.C. last week made an strong impression on me...mostly favorable.  We as Americans truly have a very classy capital city, and we should all be proud of it...even if we're not too enamored with some of the elected politicians working there.  Here are a few of my reactions to the visit...

One of the things that immediately struck me as I began to walk the streets of Washington was the immensity of its buildings...everything there seems to be built on a grand scale.  Whereas in most major cities the downtown administration area is clustered with skyscrapers, our nation's capital city has an established ordinance that prohibits new buildings from exceeding in height that of the Statue of Freedom standing atop the Capitol building.  The result has many, many very long and wide government buildings and businesses sometimes occupying entire city blocks...and even going underground as well...

I live in Gainesville, Florida, and although the major intersections have pedestrian crosswalks with walk/don't-walk signals and numerical countdowns on the "walk" phase, it just seems dangerous crossing streets because...well, frankly a lot of drivers here either just don't look out for pedestrians and bicyclists or they act like they shouldn't be there.  In Washington, though, pedestrians rule: the intersections don't even have a button that crossers need to push, and they usually give a very generous amount of crossing time...

When Melissa and I got off the plane at Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia, we used an inexpensive bus line to take us to an outlying Washington Metro train station...we got on the Silver Line and it let us out just a short distance from our hotel a block from the Mall.  I have to say that I love the whole concept of the Metro...mostly underground...it's too bad that more cities refuse to invest in this sort of transportation that serves the people so well.  The only problem I had with it was that sometimes the entry points above ground are hard to find: Saturday morning, on the way back to the airport, we finally found our station while walking around in the rain after overshooting it and having to backtrack.  But yes, I really dig the Metro.  I also thought that Union Station, a few blocks north of the Capitol, was extraordinary...you can board Amtrak trains to other cities there as well as connect with the Metro and the architecture is stunning...

Well, that's some of my reactions to visiting Washington. More to come...

Quote of the Week...from Mark Twain

Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference. 
                                                                      ---Mark Twain.

This quote indirectly came to me from a friend's post on Facebook as he related his workplace experience arguing some points with someone...somebody else showed him a paraphrase of Twain's above quote. Actually, the great American author may have derived his own saying from a Proverbs verse...more on that and its interesting accompanying verse later.  First of all, I don't think anyone is completely a fool...each of us has areas in our lives in which we behave foolishly or entertain foolish thoughts. But the quote pertains when someone we encounter is in the midst of their particular foolishness...the temptation to react and correct them can be overwhelming.  But if their beliefs are irrationally and/or emotionally based and, after a bit of back-and-forth exchange with them, it is obvious that nothing positive is coming out of the discussion, it is better to politely step back out of it without trying to hammer your own points onto the other.  Else, as Twain said, onlookers may not be able to discern who is the greater fool...

As to the verses found in the Old Testament book of Proverbs, we look in Chapter 26, first at Verse 4: Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.  Good, that seems to reflect the sentiment of this article, doesn't it?  But wait...read on what it says in Verse 5: Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.  So the Bible seems to be giving us a choice: which is more important, not looking like a fool to others or convincing another of his own error?  I say it's okay to express my disagreement with someone by expressing my case as being my own sentiments, not making it all sound like some kind of immutable universal law that must be obeyed and believed, and then change the subject or walk away. That way, I've at least planted a seed in his or her mind as well as those of any onlookers.  By the way, graciously letting the "fool" have the last word is a good idea as well, although for a lot of us that may be pretty difficult...

10/28 Sermon on Wisdom, Part 1

At The Family Church here in Gainesville, senior pastor Philip Griffin began a new message series about wisdom, drawing from the Old Testament book of Proverbs as well as other books in scripture.  Last Sunday's sermon was titled Three Stages of Marriage and the core Biblical verse of focus was Proverbs 24:3...click on the passage to read it through Bible Gateway...

Marriages can be broken down into three stages: the Honeymoon stage, the Chaos stage, and the Enduring Love stage.  Pastor Philip listed some words that describe each one:

Honeymoon: intensity, idealism, infatuation, ignorance.
Chaos: disagreements, defensiveness, disapproval, disappointment.
Enduring Love: commitment, consideration, communication, confidence.

One of the problems, Philip pointed out, with going through these stages...and all marriages either go through them or end in divorce...is that when that middle "chaos" stage begins, one or both of the partners may long for that "honeymoon" stage and seek it with others outside the marriage.  And you often see people who will marry, then move into chaos, divorce, remarry, move again into chaos, divorce again...and the chain continues through multiple marriages. 

Couples who are undergoing the Chaos stage should take solace in that it is universal.  Keeping our eyes on God, we can receive his love and grace and turn our attentions not to our own selfish interests as if marriage were a consumer relationship, but rather elevate our spouse's over our own in a truly covenant relationship.  This growth parallels the covenant relationship between Jesus, the groom, and his bride, the church.  As believers we also see these three stages of Honeymoon, Chaos, and Enduring Love in a spiritual sense, the last reflected in our maturity in the faith...

You can watch this sermon through the church's YouTube video website...just click on this link: [TFC Videos]. The Family Church is located at 2022 SW 122nd Street and holds its Sunday morning services at 9 and 10:30.  There's the weekly sermon as well as inspiring praise and worship music, prayer, and opportunities to engage in small groups and discipleship throughout the week.  Free coffee is also available before and between services in the hospitality room on the right side of the entranceway.  Looking forward to more wisdom this Sunday...

Weekly Short Stories: '39 Sci-Fi, Part 5

Continuing along with my brief reviews of science fiction short stories from way back in time, I'm getting near the end of the anthology Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 1 (1939).  I read four more tales...next week I'll conclude this book...

HEAVY PLANET by Milton A. Rothman
The genre of science fiction is often divided by fans between stories of a "hard" nature...trying to stick with science, often getting a little bit technical in the process...and "soft" sci-fi, which often gets more into metaphysics and fantasy.  This particular story is of the former type as the author, himself a physicist, speculated what kind of life could live on a planet much more massive than ours, where beings whose matter is very dense could rip through thick metallic spaceship wall as if it were paper.  An Earth ship has crashed on this planet and the mad dash is on between warring camps to retrieve a secret that may help them discover how to finally escape the prison of their world's intense gravity. A very intriguing tale, and quite educational...

LIFE-LINE by Robert Heinlein
A man claims that he can pinpoint to the day when anyone will die and is heckled by an antagonistic body of scientists assembled to hear him.  He skirts the necessary scientific principle of revealing his process so that others can independently test his theory and instead makes a business out of his discovery...in the process making an enemy out of the life insurance industry as his believers and customers grow.  The ending seems to present a moral of sorts...maybe we aren't meant to know when it will all end for each of us...

ETHER BREATHER by Theodore Sturgeon
A humorous story, Ether Breather speculates on the possibility of higher-frequency life in the context of the then-budding technology of color broadcasting.  It seems that some practical joker out there is taking the signals and distorting them into parodies, outraging the people on the receiving end of the broadcasts.  It's all a mystery to everyone...until the end, when the protagonist does something amazingly foolish...

PILGRIMAGE by Nelson Bond
It is 3478 A.D. and humanity...at least in what used to be the United States...has regressed to numerous tribes led by women.  Men are either running around in the wild or being confined and used only for reproduction...and their numbers have dwindled to the point of threatening the species' survival.   Young Meg of the Jinnia tribe, upon reaching womanhood, tells the Mother...that group's leader...that she doesn't want to be assigned to the specialized roles in that society, but rather wants to eventually succeed her as the Mother.  This is agreed to, and Meg's education commences.  The culmination is a long pilgrimage, by Meg alone, to the four gods they worship. The Mother promises her great revelation when she reaches them.  But all is not as it seems, and Meg learns a great deal about their past...men played a much greater role after all.  This story seems the most dated of the four, and gender stereotypes, while examined, are also being reinforced...but we are talking about something written back in 1939.  I could see from early on where the story was going...glad it was short!

Tuesday's List: Local Questions on November Ballot

This articles concerns people living in Alachua County and the city of Gainesville.  On our voting ballot for November 6 (or right now if you're voting early) contain four questions of a local nature, two concerning Alachua County and two just for those living within its seat, Gainesville.  I looked them over and, while I don't completely understand all that they entail, I think I have enough of an inkling to make semi-informed decisions about them in the voting booth.  Here they are:

ALACHUA COUNTY QUESTIONS

CHILDREN'S TRUST OF ALACHUA COUNTY TO LEVY ONE-HALF MILL AD VALOREM TAXES
This measure is to provide funds to help with childcare and postnatal care.  If you're a working family struggling to juggle the expenses and times for your children's care, this is a very good proposal.  Just because my kids have grown and don't yet have children doesn't mean that I shouldn't feel compassion for others.  I'm voting "yes".

HALF-CENT SALES SURTAX TO IMPROVE SCHOOL FACILITIES
Schools are constantly in need of maintenance and technological upgrading.  Since our state government seems disinterested in adequately funding education, at least in Alachua County we can stand up and do something positive.  Again, I'm voting "yes" although the issue doesn't directly affect me.

CITY OF GAINESVILLE CHARTER AMENDMENTS

GAINESVILLE REGIONAL UTILITIES AUTHORITY
Currently the Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) is city-run, meaning that as citizens we have input through our elected city commissioners on how it will be run.  The proposal removes local control and puts it into the state's hands...I'm voting "no".

CITY COMMISSION ELECTIONS AND TERMS OF OFFICE
Our city commission elections have been held in March and April, when they are the only things on the ballot and voter turnout diminishes to around 12%.  This measure puts all city commission elections on the regular November ballot, with primary elections in August.  Also proposed is lengthening the current three-year term of office to four in order that the elections always take place in even-numbered years.  I've long wanted for them to switch to November local elections, so I'm voting "yes".

Now in closing, I need to reiterate something that I've been emphasizing before but which some people don't seem to get.  I'm not endorsing or recommending any candidates or referenda in this election or any other...I'm just stating my own views.  If you happen to disagree with me on my opinions and that fact emotionally upsets you for some reason, I suggest you take a deep breath, count to ten, and move on...

Congratulations to '18 World Series Champs Boston Red Sox

My congratulations go out to the 2018 Boston Red Sox, who won this year's Major League Baseball World Series last night, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to one.  Although this wasn't one of those classic seven-game series, it did feature some interesting things.  The third game was won by the Dodgers in a series-record eighteen innings and the next one featured Boston, down 4-0 going into the seventh inning, coming back with a three-inning nine-run explosion...powered by series MVP Steve Pearce and his hitting...to gain the improbable win, 9-6.  I was rooting for the Red Sox and also liked how former Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher (and Cy Young Award winner) David Price, one of my favorite pitchers in baseball, performed so well in this series, especially the final game when he pitched seven full innings and gave up only a run...

Baseball seems to have drastically slid in popularity over the past few years.  I remember the first World Series I saw: the Minnesota Twins against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1965...it was so big back then that they even showed the day games live on TV at my elementary school!  This year Fox Sports channel and TBS showed the playoff series leading to the World Series, which the regular Fox network aired.  "My" Florida teams had mixed results in 2018.  Tampa Bay had a very respectable 90-72 record, but that wasn't enough for them to make the playoffs.  Miami, which under new CEO Derek Jeter had gotten rid of the core of its star batting lineup of Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, and Marcell Ozuna, dismally finished with the National League's worst record at 63-98.  If the pattern holds for the Marlins, they'll keep improving from year to year until they have produced more standout star players...at which point they will predictably deal them away to other teams and return to last place for some more "rebuilding".  Losers!

Looking Back on D.C. Visit

On our trip to Washington, D.C. this past week, Melissa and I enjoyed exploring the sights, most of them centering on the Mall...this despite the fact that in the middle of it all I experienced a severe, painful dental emergency and had to undergo a root canal!  Still, during the "toothache" part of the stay I managed to dissociate the pain from the very interesting touring we were doing...I really got to dig being in our capital city.  Our hotel was just a block south of the Mall area, right near the Smithsonian Space and Air Museum.  After check-in late Tuesday afternoon, we walked out to the middle of the Mall to survey the scene...the Capitol building to the east and the Washington Monument to the west, with the Lincoln Memorial behind it.  Wednesday we made a day of visiting the Capitol and also ventured into the adjacent Library of Congress for a while.  Thursday, alas, had me first undergo my adventure in D.C. dentistry...thankfully they graciously fit me into their schedule and did a great job...after which we went on an evening open-window trolley tour through the capital, starting from the beautiful Union Station and stopping at the Lincoln Memorial, Iwo Jima stature, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.  Friday we explored some of the museums and gardens near our hotel as the rain began to fall outside from the remnants of Pacific Hurricane Willa. And yesterday we returned.  There is so much to explore in this great city and its surroundings that just three full days looking around doesn't even began to scratch the surface.  In coming articles I'll write from time to time in greater detail about some of these and other aspects of our trip and stay.  Right now, I'm very happy to be back home!

Back Home from Nation's Capital

Melissa and I just got back from our trip this week to Washington, DC. It's kind of late at night right now, and both of us need to get up early tomorrow morning...I'll write more about various aspects of our stay there during the days and weeks to come.  I did something similar about a family visit to Manhattan back in 2010 and it seemed to work well on the blog.  Until later...

Quote of the Week...from W. Somerset Maugham

If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn't matter a damn how you write.                                   W. Somerset Maugham

W. Somerset Maugham, the twentieth century British author who wrote Of Human Bondage and The Razor's Edge, has a good point with the above quote.  I've read lots of books over the past few years...most of them critical successes or very popular...and the literary styles the different authors use in them varies enormously from one book to the next...the range of diversity is even more extreme with short stories.  One important thing, I think, is that regardless how outlandish the story's situation or characters are, there need to be prominent elements of it that give the reader a sense of familiarity and reality...even if the tale is a bizarre fantasy.  Stephen King has claimed that he likes to place ordinary, relatable people as his characters into unusual circumstances...and then let them work it all out for themselves, usually without a specific notion as to where the story will lead as he is writing it.  Others, like Isaac Asimov, would outline their stories at the beginning of the writing process and then go on from there.  You know, I really need to begin writing my own fiction...no harm in trying how different successful authors do it, maybe ultimately "my" style will be a combination of others'.  But the main thing is to begin...and with that I'd like to bring up two related and very pertinent quotes, the first by Anne Lamott and the last by Edgar Rice Burroughs:

Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts.  You need to start somewhere.

If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor.

Here's to writing a hundred stories!

10/21 Sermon on Miracles, Part 7

Last Sunday at The Family Church here in Gainesville, senior pastor Philip Griffin closed out his series on seven important miracles, or signs, of Jesus as related in the New Testament's Gospel of John. This message was about the seventh miracle...that of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead...and the scripture of focus was John 11:21-12:3...click on the passage to read it via Bible Gateway...

In discussing the miracle about Lazarus, Pastor Philip concentrated more on the differing beliefs and behavior that sisters Martha and Mary displayed to Jesus while he was a guest at their home.  In reference to Martha, Philip pointed out that spending time with Jesus is more important than our "to-do" lists...Martha was driven in task mode, by the tyranny of the "urgent".  She was also prone to accusing others ("I'm doing all this work, why aren't you?").  But, as Philip continued, we have to each lay boundaries for ourselves so that our priorities don't get overturned...Mary had hers straight...

Pastor Philip structured the passage in three terms: sitting at Jesus's feet, falling at Jesus's feet, and worshipping at Jesus's feet.  Mary made the right decision to be with Jesus and sit at his feet, learning from him.  When Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary, feel ill, they implored Jesus to go visit him for healing...but the Lord tarried, and Lazarus died.  Both sisters expressed their disappointment to Jesus, but they differed in that Martha did not perceive Jesus's true nature as Lord while Mary, who had spent time with him, fell at his feet in grief.  Jesus, moved by her actions, wept with her, sharing in her mourning...he can provide solace to us in our grief, too, without the need to resort to chemicals, busywork, or others.  Finally, as Jesus approached the tomb of Lazarus, Martha tried to stop him from entering, claiming there would be a bad odor...but in essence trying to block any miracle since she did not know him for who he was.  Likewise, we may find ourselves skeptical of what the Lord can do with ourselves if we had not spent time sitting and falling at his feet.  Worshipping Jesus at his feet, which Mary practiced, happened because she first sought out his presence and then relied on him during her time of trouble.  Pastor Philip concluded by listing four aspects of worship: (1) worship means to value something above all...God does not need our worship: we do, (2) worship is sacrificial...like the expensive perfume Mary poured on Jesus's feet, (3) worship flows from gratitude, and (4) worship...like that perfume...is like a sweet aroma for others, inspiring them to follow in the same way...

You can watch this sermon by clicking on the church's YouTube link: [TFC Videos].  The Family Church is located at 2022 SW 122nd Street and meets each Sunday morning at 9 and 10;30 for services, which include praise and worship music, the weekly message, and prayer.  There are numerous small group and discipleship sessions interspersed through the week that you can participate in as well.  Before and between the services, free coffee is available in the hospitality room next to the entranceway.  And there are lots of friendly folks around who want to meet and get to know you....

Weekly Short Stories: '39 Sci-Fi, Part 4

This past week I continued going through the science fiction short story anthology Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 1 (1939), reading some more intriguing tales.  All the authors were familiar to me, from the wife/husband writing team of C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner to L. Sprague de Camp and the series editor, Isaac Asimov himself.  Here's my reaction to each of them...

GREATER THAN GODS by C.L. Moore
This story, set about three hundred years into the future from its writing, examines alternate futures and how a simple decision a person makes can have a reverberating effect down through history.  A young scientist has a difficult decision to make: which woman he will ask to marry him.  As he looks at each of their three-dimensional pictures on his desktop, their descendants from centuries into the future call out to him through them, each one presenting how the world had turned out as well as how his original marriage went.  The two scenarios he observes point to diametrically different outcomes, with humanity in one dying out in lethargy and complacency and in the other having turned into a totalitarian, militarist nightmare of conquest, brutality and leader worship.  Forced into a decision in the end, he does something I first thought I had smartly figured out earlier...but no, then I suddenly realized that I had read this story before!

TRENDS by Isaac Asimov
One of Asimov's first published stories, Trends paints a picture of how in history the pendulum in society periodically swings back and forth between science and religious fervor.  His protagonist, John Harmon, has designed a spaceship in 1973 to take him to the Moon and back, but the people, led by religious extremists, see it as evil and protest the upcoming launch.  One of Harmon's own people betrays him and sabotages the launch...all looks lost.  But then again, will that pendulum begin to swing back in the other direction?  It's a good little story that, however, exposes the author's own hostility to religion as he depicts it being intolerant and anti-liberty.  Then again, I can't remember ever reading him ever discussing the brutality of state-sponsored atheism as enforced in the Soviet Union, China, and other totalitarian regimes during his lifetime...intriguing because Asimov himself was born in the USSR...

THE BLUE GIRAFFE by L. Sprague de Camp
Athelstan Cuff is a middle-age Englishman living in America with his wife and adopted son Peter.  Peter is sensitive about being adopted, and so his father sits him down and tells the story behind it, one that goes many years earlier in British colonial South Africa...more specifically the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now the nation of Botswana).  In one of the wildlife reserves there has been discovered something remarkable: a blue giraffe.  Cuff, a biologist working in Cape Town, is sent to investigate: a blue giraffe isn't the only anomaly among the animals there.  His investigation points to an earlier missing scientist, Hickey, and what he was trying to accomplish in this area.  In the process Cuff has one hilarious adventure after the other, culminating in the explanation as to why Peter was adopted.  This story was very funny, as most assuredly it was intended to be...

THE MISGUIDED HALO by Henry Kuttner
Not exactly a science fiction story, this story involves an extraterrestrial angel sent on a mission to bestow a halo of sainthood on a Kai Yung, living in Tibet.  On arriving there, he finds Kai Yung living in a drunken state of dissolution and concludes that this one has fallen into sin and no longer merits the halo.  Could it have been a mistake? The angel goes to America and finds a place called Tibbett in the Midwest...and a man named K. (Kenneth) Young.  He concludes that this may have been the intended recipient and places on him the halo, with it always hovering a few inches over his head and quite visible.  When Mr. Young, an advertising executive, awakens the next morning and gets ready for work, his wife points out the strange circle above him.  His subsequent antics while trying to hide it from others and the sequence of mishaps he experiences form the rest of the story, which I think would have played quite well as one of those humorous-type Twilight Zone episodes. I mean, what would you do if suddenly there were a permanent, visible halo over your head?

And the reading continues...

Tuesday's List: Last Six Amendments to Fla Constitution on Ballot

Today I'm continuing my discussion from last Tuesday about the proposed amendments to Florida's state constitution with Amendments Seven through Thirteen, using the very good website Be Ready to Vote. Amendment Eight was struck by the state supreme court, so we're left with six. Several of these frustrate me because they're essentially bundled amendments with different parts to them. Many of the proposals are already a part of state law, but for some reason people somewhere feel the need to enshrine them as part of the constitution. I'll have to be honest here: I'm a bit skeptical about this idea of ordinary people, without the benefit of trained professional staff and legal and scientific experts, directly making sweeping constitutional decisions...our elected representatives in this republic of ours are supposed to be doing this! Still, the questions are there on the ballot, and I'm determined to decide for myself on them one way or another, for better or for worse...it's almost like a crap shoot with some of these questions, though...

7 FIRST RESPONDER AND MILITARY MEMBER SURVIVOR BENEFITS; PUBLIC COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
Exactly what mandating first responder death benefits has to do with requiring a supermajority on college governing boards to increase tuitions is beyond me, but they're lumped together in this strange proposed amendment. I agree with the part that adds paramedics and emergency technicians to the first responder designation...I always thought they already were. I have no opinion about the college part of this proposal, and I want death benefits to go out the way it's described...even though it's not indicated exactly how they'll be funded. Still, I think it's a good gesture and I'm voting "yes"...

8 SCHOOL BOARD TERM LIMITS AND DUTIES; PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Removed from ballot by court.

9 PROHIBITS OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS DRILLING; PROHIBITS VAPING IN ENCLOSED INDOOR WORKPLACES
Another weird combo amendment. I'm against offshore oil and gas drilling, but think that making rules about vaping in enclosed indoor workplaces should be a matter for each organization to decide for itself...for the record, I've never smoked a single cigarette and therefore have no personal interest in vaping. The ban on the drilling is already part of state law...why do we have to make every piece of already-passed legislation part of the constitution? I'm voting "no" because the vaping section overreaches...

10 STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE AND OPERATION
This one sets specific dates for the convening of the state legislature and makes Florida's already-established Dept. of Veterans Affair constitutionally-mandated: so who's trying to abolish it? And it mandates elections for sheriff and other public offices for all counties, affecting only five of our sixty-seven. I don't yet know how I'm voting: this proposal seems inconsequential to me...


11 PROPERTY RIGHTS; REMOVAL OF OBSOLETE PROVISION; CRIMINAL STATUTES
The main thing this amendment does is to remove the obligation of the state to pursue criminal charges against someone after the law on which the prosecution is based is changed...sounds like a no-brainer to me. Also there's supposedly an old state law allowing for messing with the property rights of non-citizens that will go by the wayside if this amendment is approved...I'm voting "yes"...

12 LOBBYING AND ABUSE OF OFFICE BY PUBLIC OFFICIALS
In essence this proposed amendment extends the time span that legislators, statewide elected officials, and judges must wait until they are allowed to go into lobbying...from two to six years. There's also a provision prohibiting state officials from receiving "disproportionate benefits" from their employment. Sounds like a good amendment, voting "yes"...

13 ENDS DOG RACING
Well, this one seems simple enough: should we finally end pari-mutuel gambling on dog races? The sport/industry has been in decline for some with few tracks remaining in the state. I have childhood memories of my father being a big greyhound racing enthusiast, although I think he got a little carried away with it all, including the gambling aspect. It's sad that there's been documented abuse of these beautiful animals...I always enjoyed watching them run their little races during the few times I attended them. I'm voting "no" because I want to give the people running these tracks and caring for these dogs a chance to turn their profession around and return it to a more prominent place in Florida as an entertainment destination. After all, we are a tourism-oriented state...

Mr. Irwin Goes to Washington

This Tuesday Melissa and I will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to stay there a few nights and check out many of the sights, including the Capitol, the White House, the Smithsonian, the various monuments, memorials, and museums...and just have a fun, enlightening time.  Melissa went there on a school trip with our daughter Rebecca and classmates, teachers, and other parents back in 2005...I have no memory of the place although I once was there...as an infant back in 1957.  I don't know whether Congress will be in session during our visit, but it sure isn't right now...I think they're all scrambling about back in their home states and districts, campaigning for reelection.  After we get back, I'll probably write some blog articles here about different aspects of our trip...I plan to take a lot of pictures, too. Should be interesting...

Alachua County Commission Structure Antiquated, Needs Reform

As a citizen both of the city of Gainesville and its county, Alachua, I live under the government of two coexisting commissions: the city and the county.  The city commission, which employs term limits for its members, has three at-large commissioners (including the mayor) elected by the entire city and four districted commissioners who respond to the needs and priorities of those belong to their respective districts.  This system strikes me as being eminently fair, both discouraging career politicians from dominating the commission as well as encouraging a greater political diversity within it...from time to time we get a conservative voice or two there, although Gainesville as a whole tends to vote Democratic.  The Alachua County Commission, on the other hand, neither employs term limits nor does it elect its commissioners by district: although it assigns each elected commissioner a district, they are all voted on county-wide.  The result has been a liberal Democrat-dominant county commission with little conservative opposition and entrenched, powerful commissioners with little desire to ever give up their seats...Mike Byerly's been there since 2000.  This coming election has two seats up for vote...wait, make that one: "District" 4, held by Democrat Ken Cornell, is unopposed, so he's already "in".  The other is between Democrat Marihelen Wheeler (a former candidate for state legislature and the U.S House), Libertarian Party candidate Gregory Caudill, and non-partisan candidate Scott Costello. The traditional party of opposition, the Republicans, apparently have seen the pointlessness of tying to put up and fund candidates in races that they have little-to-no chance of winning.  That's too bad: although Gainesville as Alachua County's population center heavily leans Democratic and liberal, the outlying communities and unincorporated, more rural areas tend to be conservative and more supportive of Republican candidates.  If the county commission were to adopt the city's system of combining districted seats with at-large ones, I think we'd see a better, more inclusive county commission that properly addressed its people's concerns...the way it ought to be.  And just what is it with their refusal to enact term limits, anyway?

Political Talk Has Become Pointlessly Personal and Rancorous

One of the things I learned as a part of growing up into a mature adult capable of getting along with others in a civil manner is that whenever someone asks me how to do something, what the rules are, or which is the better choice, not to answer them in absolute terms as some do, laying down the law in capital letters and multiple exclamation points, so to speak.  Instead, I have gotten into the habit of expressing myself in terms of how I would handle the procedure, policy, or choice, usually with reasons given.  If there were alternate choices or approaches involved, I'd also try to mention them as well, giving the person asking me a sense of empowerment and of being properly informed.  I don't think a lot of folks approach this in the same way, though, and almost never whenever politics are involved...

Yesterday afternoon while driving to the library I was fiddling around with my radio tuner and landed on a station broadcasting the Sean Hannity show. To this individual, anything goes as long as it promotes his political views...and that includes personally vilifying people he disagrees with.  I parked my car, went in, checked out my books, and walked out.  Along the sidewalk was a row of newspaper racks, one of which contained the local left-wing political rag The Gainesville Iguana.  I grabbed a copy and went to my car.  As I browsed through it, I noticed the same blunt, in-your-face kind of "my way or the highway" mindset I was just picking up from Hannity...except that these viewpoints were promoting the far left, not the far right.  There was no attempt on any level to respectfully address the opposing views on any issue, just as Hannity refuses to ever try to see anything from his political opponents' perspective...

I suggest that one of the cable channels start a new kind of talk show, but one with a special format: guests who normally argue for one viewpoint over another would, during their time on the air, agree to take the opposite position and plead their opponent's case instead. Wouldn't you like to watch a debate in which Ted Cruz tried to see things from a liberal perspective and Bernie Sanders from a conservative one?  Never will happen, of course...but at least I'd like to see media opinion makers and politicians start displaying some basic, common respect toward those on the other side, including complimenting them and pointing out areas of common cause.  But the trend nowadays...for some time, sadly...is for people to condemn in the most vicious personal terms those whose political philosophies differ from their own priorities, while either ignoring the behavior of those on their own side or going through great semantic contortions defending them.  As Marvin Gaye once sang, "Yeah, it makes me wanna holler and throw up both my hands"...

Quote of the Week...from Philip K. Dick

Each of us assumes everyone else knows what he is doing. They all assume we know what we are doing.  We don't.                                               Philip K. Dick

I think one of the major blunders that people make, both when they are assessing the behavior and intentions of others in their lives as well as judging and ascribing motives to those in the public limelight...especially politicians...is that they assume that everyone else is always competent and sure-minded about what they are trying to accomplish...and have their reasons all laid out in a perfectly logical pattern.  I for one disagree with this notion, as apparently did the great twentieth century science fiction author Philip K. Dick, who said with the above quote what I'd been thinking for years.  Many, many years, in fact...

One of my most vivid memories was when I was a thirteen-year old eighth-grade student sitting in a drafting class.  I was very awkward then, especially when it came to being around others.  I was sitting there quietly, pretending to be working...I'm sure the others around me thought this was what I was doing...but I was actually observing several of my fellow students interacting around me.  I got the impression...a strong impression...that they all either were supremely confident and showed it as they talked with one another showing such apparent poise...or that they were all putting on a monumental collective act of deception.  I came away from that experience realizing that when people grew up, they learned to wrap themselves up in images they want to project to others about themselves, images that don't necessarily reflect their own realities...especially their uncertainties, confusion, and self-doubts...

I have a tendency to be skeptical about conspiracy theories of all kinds because of this awareness of peoples' generally muddled and mixed-up inner natures, their outward presentation of themselves notwithstanding.  We're not robots capable of creating and implementing exorbitantly complicated algorithms that require so many things to go "right" in order for some of the so-called conspiracies I've heard to be real and successful.  Neither are our political leaders all that deliberately evil as whoever happens to be their opposition likes to portray them.  If you're going to say some bad things about the last three presidents...Trump, Obama, and Bush...I say that calling them on their lapses and failings in the end is probably much closer to the truth than saying that any of them were (or are) part of some coordinated, convoluted scheme to "take over".  It might behoove some of us who are entrenched in an "our side vs. their side" mindset to try to recognize that most folks...and politicians...like my old eighth-grade classmates...are largely concocted images on the outside and disarray and conflict within...

10/14 Sermon on Miracles, Part 6

As Gainesville's Family Church continued its Sunday morning sermon series about miracles that Jesus produced as revealed in the Gospel of John, Colin Griffin, our senior pastor Philip Griffin's son and a committed international missions worker, stood up as guest speaker.  He presented the story of Jesus healing the blind man as related in John 9...click on the passage to read it through Bible Gateway...

Colin laid out the stages in the blind man's physical and spiritual healing: first he hears Christ, then he sees him...and then ultimately he knows him and his true nature.  It's important to recognize, Colin continued, that the blind man responds in obedience to Jesus: God listens to people who do his will. The blind man stands up for Jesus against the criticisms of the surrounding religious leaders, who want to persecute him for healing on the Sabbath...eventually resulting in his being thrown out of the temple. He is not only physically healed, but also comes to a deeper understanding of Christ: first Jesus is a man to him, then a prophet...finally, the Lord, his Lord.  Colin concluded by emphasizing that knowing Jesus necessarily means coming to him and involves stepping out, often if not usually, into very uncomfortable situations. It consequently demands total commitment. And, he added, those who understand their own spiritual blindness can receive Jesus, but not those who deny theirs... 

You can watch Colin's sermon through the church's YouTube video website...just click on the following link: [TFC Videos]. I very much appreciate this talented and inspired speaker and enthusiastically look forward to a future day when he will once again bless us with another message. The Family Church is located at 2022 SW 122nd Street, holding its Sunday morning services at 9 and 10:30.  After being welcomed by the friendly greeters at the door, you can chat with any number of folks before the service while drinking complimentary coffee offered in the hospitality room.  Then the service commences, starting with beautiful and moving praise and worship music, then the weekly message, and finally opportunities for prayer.  The church also offers a number of small groups and courses that meet during the week at different times.  This Sunday: Miracle Number Seven...

Weekly Short Stories: '39 Sci-Fi, Pt. 3

This week I continued reading through the science fiction anthology Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 1 (1939), in which he and Martin Greenberg selected...forty years later...what they thought was the best of that year in short fiction.  I finished three more stories, and here's my discussions for each of them...

THE ULTIMATE CATALYST by John Taine
Known more for his non-fiction, especially his biographical series on mathematicians, Taine wrote this one with a well-developed sense of biology and chemistry.  It is sometime in the future and the last dictator on Earth has been exiled to a confined area in the Amazon jungle...unfortunately he still is a tyrant within that domain.  Trapped there is a scientist and his daughter...he reveals to the dictator that he has developed a plant food that tastes like meat, handy in that vegetation is the only viable form of food in this region.  But the scientist has ulterior motives, and this tale just might send anyone prone to queasiness right over the edge...probably a good idea not to read The Ultimate Catalyst while eating...

THE GNARLY MAN by L. Sprague de Camp
Anthropologist Matilda Saddler, after studying cultures from all over the world, finds her most interesting subject right in the middle of a Coney Island carnival show: Ungo-Bungo, a supposed ape-man whose skull bone structure seems strange to her, turns out when she meets him to be a well-spoken. amiable Irishman...until he reveals his true identity: he is the last surviving Neanderthal, some 50,000 years old.  Interesting this tale is, especially in light of the Lester del Rey story The Day is Done about a different "last Neanderthal", appearing in the same anthology and which I discussed last week...

BLACK DESTROYER by A.E. von Vogt
The "black destroyer" in this tale is a "coeurl", a ferocious but highly intelligent cat-like predator...but with vibration-inducing tentacles emanating from its shoulders...inhabiting a very remote, nearly dead planet.  Although essentially immortal, it is running out of food: salvation seems to have arrived with the landing of an exploratory spaceship from Earth.  The humans encounter the beast...and the intricate chess game ensues between them, with not only their survival but also the future of space dominance at stake.  I liked the way the author presented the coeurl's viewpoint as its remarkable adaptability is progressively revealed.  But I didn't like the way that von Vogt explained its origin and even less how the story ultimately resolved itself.  Plus, as is often the case with hard science fiction, much of the dialogue...especially toward the end...got too bogged down in esoteric technicalities.  Still, as an adventure story it was suspenseful and interesting...it would carry over well to film...

More stories from this book next Wednesday...

Tuesday's List: The First Six Florida Constitutional Amendments on the Ballot

A few weeks ago I listed the thirteen amendments to the Florida State Constitution that are up for vote this November 6th...since then Amendment Eight has been withdrawn.  Today I'm discussing...very briefly...each of the first six amendments and my take on them.  For any of these amendments to be accepted in the state's constitution, they need to receive approval of at least 60% of the voters in the election.  I learned a lot about them from the website Be Ready to Vote...click on it to get some needed information, complete with pros and cons for each proposed amendment.  I plan to discuss Amendments Seven through Thirteen next Tuesday...

1 INCREASED HOMESTEAD TAX EXEMPTION
This amendment increases up to a maximum additional $25,000 homestead tax exemption on properties valued at $100,000 or higher.  For those eligible who want to save tax money for themselves, this seems good...but local governments stand to lose an enormous amount of needed revenue should this pass...I'm voting "no".

2 LIMITATIONS ON PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENTS
This is only for non-homesteaded property and limits to 10% the taxable value increase for such property.  Apartment renters and vacation home owners in particular stand to personally benefit from such an amendment, but as with the first one, this is estimated to cause a serious shortfall in local government revenue.  Again, I'm voting "no".

3 VOTER CONTROL OF GAMBLING IN FLORIDA
This amendment seems to be getting the most media attention, with supporters pointing to other states of differing political orientations that have this amendment in their constitutions...let the people decide if they want a casino or not, right?  But the way I see it, since casinos are a good source of government revenue, I'd rather see people voluntarily fund it playing at them than forced to through more compulsory taxes...and I really don't want to see Florida feel as if it needs to resort to a state income tax. Since voting "yes" will inhibit casinos, I'm voting "no" although I'm personally no fan of gambling...

4 VOTING RESTORATION
This amendment restores full voting rights to convicted felons...excluding murderers or those convicted of sex crimes...once they have completed their sentences and are no longer on probation or parole.  The current state law, which is undergoing a court challenge right now, mandates five years before a felon can even begin a tedious application process to restore voting rights.  I'm voting "yes"...I believe in the restoration of rights (and hope) after criminals have served their punishment, otherwise rehabilitation means nothing...

5 SUPERMAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED TO IMPOSE, AUTHORIZE, OR RAISE STATE TAXES OR FEES
This amendment, pushed by Tea Party Governor Rick Scott, makes it very difficult to raise taxes and may in the end necessitate cuts to important state services, including those to people unable to fend for themselves.  If you're a "never tax" Floridian, vote for it...I'm noting "no"...

6 RIGHTS OF CRIME VICTIMS; JUDGES
While increasing the mandatory retirement age of judges from 70 to 75, this amendment gives emphasis to crime victims.  The website I referred to mentioned that many of this amendment's provisions are already state law.  There is also proposed a further time limitation on convicts' appeals...and eliminates a section already in law that prevents victims' rights from interfering with those of the accused.  I'm fine with letting judges work to 75. About the time limit on appeals I'm unsure...how far does it go?  But what killed this amendment for me was allowing victims' rights to impinge upon those of the accused...as a friend of mine recently remarked: innocent until proven guilty and let nothing unfairly interfere with due process.  This amendment in a revised form might be acceptable to me as I also care about crime victims, but I'm voting "no"...I'm also wary of the distorted TV ads in favor of it that appear to equate suspects with convicts...

One thing about the above amendments, as well as those that follow: the fact that they are on the ballot in the first place, to me, seems to be an indictment against the ability or willingness of a sitting  state government, composed of the governor, the senate, and the house...all controlled by the same party...to govern and pass meaningful legislation.  After all, didn't we elect them to represent us and pass laws? Oh well, as I said, the election is November 6th... 

Just Finished Reading The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

The Three Musketeers, by French novelist Alexandre Dumas, is one of those books that I probably should have read back in school...better late than never, I say.  Dumas published in it 1844, but this historical novel's theme goes back to the 1620s during the reign of France's Louis XIII and England's Charles I.  The two kingdoms seem to be in a perennial state of conflict, either in war or preparing for it.  The French king has a special guard unit, called the musketeers, that operates independently of other forces, and the Cardinal has his own guard that often battles that of the King's...most particularly those musketeers.  There are special musketeers, called "the inseparables", named Athos, Parthos, and Aramis...hence the book's title.  A young man from Gascony province, d'Artagnan, has arrived seeking to be accepted by the musketeers and trained into their group.  But he gets drawn into a scuffle with a mystery man and loses his father's letter to their leader.  Disappointed, d'Artagnan finds himself first accidentally drawn into duels with the three musketeers and then, united with them, fends off an attack from the Cardinal's guards...in doing so gaining the good graces of the King and resulting in his appointment to the King's guard...

The Three Musketeers is full of "honor" and dueling to the death in its defense, something I'm not very enthusiastic about.  It all seems so immature and pointless as it is near-to-impossible for one man to have a simple conversation with another without it ending in an insult and an invitation to fight it out.  While this nonsense is going on, there is intrigue between the King of France, his wife Anne (who is also Queen of Austria), the Cardinal, and Lord Buckingham of England...the most powerful man there behind King Charles.  Rochefort, the mystery man d'Artagnan earlier encountered and is always seeking for revenge, along with Milady de Winter, one of literature's greatest villainesses, work for Cardinal Richelieu while Constance Bonacieux, working for the Queen, is d'Artagnan's love interest.  The plot gets pretty convoluted, and predictably in this context of international conflict and intrigue, not all survive to the end...

There apparently really was a historical d'Artagnan as well as the three musketeers: Dumas derived much of his material from his knowledge of that era's history as well as another Frenchman's semi-fictional work from 1700.  As it turns out, The Three Musketeers was the first of a series that Alexandre Dumas wrote, and he had a collaborator with these novels: August Maquete.  Probably needless to say, I read an English translation of this work, not the French original.  Did I like this novel?  Once I got past the buffoonery with the incessant dueling, I began to enjoy the different characters as well as learning quite a bit about early 17th century European history...including an important assassination that occurred in 1628...

Comments and Cognitive Reverie

One of the problems, which incidentally is simultaneously a blessing, when I dutifully post in Facebook each of this blog's articles (which are published through Google's Blogger site), is that readers tend to not only know me personally but also know, should they choose to place a comment, that their opinions will be open for all to read and that they will be instantly identified with them.  Sometimes, as mathematician John Nash, while speculating on a win-win mathematical model scenario, once remarked to a friend in the movie A Beautiful Mind, "You have no respect for cognitive reverie", I like to just sit back and look at things from different perspectives.  I want this blog to be more oriented toward open speculation and "cognitive reverie" as well, but I'm afraid that, with a couple of noteworthy exceptions, folks just aren't comfortable with opening up with their thoughts and reactions.  There is a solution to this, though: anyone reading this blog, whether through Facebook or directly on the web, can submit their own comments to me.  I have it set up on my blog to directly take comments (bypassing Facebook) without them immediately appearing. Before I publish any, I need to first review them...my initial primary reason for this was to avoid publishing the numerous spam comments that were beginning to proliferate.  Now, though, pre-screening is useful in that anyone can submit to me his or her comment and then ask me NOT to publish it...I'll comply with any such request.  Also, anonymous comments can be submitted as well...if they don't sound like spam and aren't demeaning or profane, then likewise they'll be published at the end of the article (within the blog).  In any event, I always endeavor to respond to any reasonable comment, regardless whether I agree or disagree with the expressed view, in a respectful and appreciative manner...

Cognitive reverie to me is an activity in which one isn't tied down to any kind of dogma or ideology, instead just taking a particular subject and breaking it down...sometimes coming to conclusions that don't fit the mainstream of socially-promulgated thought.  Therefore it grieves me somewhat when I go down this road and then get a reaction from someone who is an ideologue, forming their opinions on just about everything based on what somebody else wrote or said that fits their "party line"...to me, that is the opposite of what I would call cognitive reverie.  Such people can easily disprove this about themselves by simply revealing to me at least one issue (the more the better) in which they agree with the "other side's" views.  Another way is to make their opinions more personal and to explain how they interact with their own life and experiences...or explain the thinking process that led them to their conclusions. To me, a natural product of thinking for yourself is to sometimes arrive at different conclusions to things that a particular ideology or doctrine espouses.  Thinking for yourself through the vehicle of open speculation and cognitive reverie also makes you more interesting to others instead of sounding like an obvious one-dimensional, unimaginative copycat hack...

This Week's Football Polls Perplexing with LSU, Fla, and Ky

As games across the South are either finished, in progress, or scheduled for later, the two standing college football polls, the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches, currently have several Southeastern Conference schools in their respective Top 25...no surprise here since it's the premier conference in the sport.  Three 5-1 teams...LSU, Florida, and Kentucky, are ranked in the "teens": LSU is 13th, Florida 14th, and Kentucky 18th in the AP, while with the coaches it's LSU 12th, Florida 16th, and Kentucky 20th.  So all three teams have the same win-loss record.  However, Florida beat LSU...so why are they ranked behind them?  And Kentucky beat Florida...so why are they likewise ranked worse?  This is one of the problems I have with these polls...I remember many years when the Gators would play and defeat Tennessee early in the season...as the season wore on, Florida would play well but usually lose one or two more games, while the Volunteers, ending up with no better a record than Florida, would stack up win after win, ending up ranked higher at the season's end.  Is there a built-in prejudice here? Probably in both cases...nowadays LSU is expected to be highly ranked, Florida hasn't cracked the Top Ten in years, and Kentucky has traditionally been identified with the league's doormats.  But things have changed, and you might think that the sports journalists and coaches would be up-to-date on them, especially which teams won in head-to-head competition...

By the way, at this writing LSU is beating Georgia 16-0 at halftime, Florida came back from a 21-3 deficit to win over Vanderbilt 37-27, and Kentucky has a bye week.  Two weeks from now the Gators face Georgia in Jacksonville...