Thursday Ramble: Current Events

I watched Judge Brown, soon to be Justice Brown, exhibit amazing grace, and control while being barraged with irrelevant, racist, and insulting questions during her Senate confirmation hearing.  I had never heard of her before, after listening to 30 minutes of the hearing, she is amazing.  I wouldn't have made it through the process.  I would have told a couple of them what @$$holes they are. There are reasons I will never enter politics.  

Ukraine, the world stands by while a despot bombs the country into "smoldering ruins!" We offered the President an escape route, he said "send bullets!" The world saw it coming, and stood by and waited.  Thousands of people have died, millions of lives torn apart, and the world watched.  A dark time in world history.  

We recently watched the Jeopardy College Tournament, and were shocked at the sheer lack of knowledge of events that happened in the 1960's - 1990.  It was before they were born, and not long ago enough to be in the history books.  I remember my parents being shocked when I was in school in the 60's and 70's at the lack of information about World War II, and Korea.  I didn't really learn about the holocaust until I was in college in the late 1980's, and then really only because of one professor who felt we needed to know so we wouldn't stand by and watch a repeat of the past. 

Oh My, this is depressing.  What Good is happening. 

I had lunch with a new colleague recently.  I was trying to explain what we really do.  We are paid (relatively well) to study complex issues, think deep thoughts, help others understand the issues. We can spend time seeking deeper understanding of issues we are passionate about.  All of us came at some point from the front lines, with a single view on the issues, the solutions and how they work. Starting to look at the issues from multiple points of view, finding the interconnectedness of it all, I find inspiring. The longer I do this, the more I realize how little I knew, and how much there is left for me to learn. It is what has kept me here for 13 years, it is what drives me through the long weeks.  

The spring bloom is at its peak here in the DC area.  Lots of blooming trees, the trees are starting to leaf, the grass has that bright spring green.  Still the occasional cold wind. 

 

The Way We Were Wednesday - My First Checking Account

The building on the left, was my hometown bank. Now long gone, bought, sold, merged.  There are few small town state chartered banks left. There was a dime-store next door on the right when I was a child, complete with a candy counter.  

I had had a savings account in a larger bank in a nearby city, the fall I turned 15 I asked for a checking account.  The local bank said, yes if your parents approve we can do that.  They did. I remember there was a 3-cent charge for each check - forget that and your statement wouldn't balance.  

I remember the first check I wrote, to the G.B. Dupont company to rent an airplane, that my father flew, so we could go take photos of farms from the air.  I was making a few hundred dollars a year on aerial photos, and I stepped up to paying for the airtime with that first check. I should have kept that check.  

The account for the first year or so did not have an account number.  The check clearing house finally forced the bank to issue account numbers, or they wouldn't clear checks.  I remember the letter from the bank, apologizing and assuring us that we would never be a number to them, always a customer, a neighbor, a friend, a family member.  

Travel Tuesday - Froggy

 I keep finding out that I live in a place people travel to see.  Of course there are all those pretty stone monuments and buildings downtown, but out here in the burbs, people travel from far and wide to see and hear the birds, turtles, and frogs. Really the frogs?  I had no idea, the parking lot was dotted with out of state license plates, apparently there is a network of frog spotters and listeners, who share where the cacophony and spotting is best this week, and off they go for the weekend.  

I have to think what would I travel to see, a meadow of sheep, a flock of majestic flightless waterfowl,  wolves, bears (two or four footed,) the sea crashing on the rocks, ships, airplanes, desert, dessert, Not frogs. 

My Music Monday: The Rolling Stones - Angie

The Rolling Stones played in Orlando sometime in the 1980's, while I was living there.  The band stayed in one of the hotels at Walt Disney World, and caused a bit of a stir.  Late at night, after the show, they chartered one of the sternwheel boats that normally run from the ticket and transportation center, aka the parking lot, across the lake to the entrance to the Magic Kingdom, to cruise around the lakes for a few hours.  There was food and drink and relaxation for the band, crew and a few invited guests.  The highlight of the night was Keith Richards with a bottle of champagne in one hand and the other on a railing, hanging off of the front of the boat signing into the wind around the lake.  I wasn't there, but I knew people who were.  

The Sunday Five: Inquiring Minds

 1: Do you use reusable shopping bags? 

2: When was the last time you used paper-money? 

3: Are you answering this on a computer, tablet or phone? 

4: Is your community recycling glass? 

5: Do you still write checks? 

My answers:

1: Do you use reusable shopping bags? Yes, Virginia now has a 5 cent tax on disposable shopping bags and I HATE plastic shopping bags. 

2: When was the last time you used paper-money? At the farmers market The Pastry Dude was not accepting cards. 

3: Are you answering this on a computer, tablet or phone? desktop computer - I am old fashioned like that. 

4: Is your community recycling glass? No, the service at the condo stopped accepting glass, and actually charges us extra for glass that ends up in the recycling bins. 

5: Do you still write checks?  A few, I should stop doing that. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning Post: Spring Cleaning

For those of us on the top side of the earth, it is spring. Time for a little spring cleaning.  My parents grew up with wood or coal fired heat in the winter and spring cleaning was a major need, in my mother's family they rolled up the carpets for the summer.  I am not much of a housekeeper, and Brabinger the rumba does a good job on the floors, and Sweet Bear dusts more often I would. So it is not the house, but my mind that needs a spring clean. 

I moved into a supervisory position over the winter, and a new colleague started a week later.  I need to clear out the doubt about doing well. I have noticed that my concern about doing well, shows as a shadow over the joy.  

I need to dust away the past.  I was the one who said, just because it is the way we always did things, does not mean that is the way we should do them today.  And I find myself looking to the ways of the past. 

It has been a shut in winter of long days of working, days when I never step outside the door.  I need to get out more, feel the sunshine on my balding head.  Put the top down on the Pandavagon* and drive slowly in the fresh air, let the fresh air blow the winter out of my mind.  

I need to walk more.  Walking more is on my list of goals for the year. I need to do it, not because I am failing to do it, but because it is good for my mental and physical being.  

I need to dust off the luggage, pack up and get out of town.  We are going to New York in a couple of weeks, I am very much looking forward to seeing friends, and museums, and the city.  Unless the world falls apart we are going to Iceland in May for a week.  Even if the world falls apart, we should go as long as we can go.  It will do me good to get out of the country for a few days.  

I need to clean off my desks, both at home and in the office that I am only in a day or two now and then, the detritus of work is stacking up.  If only I could hand someone the keys and have my desks cleaned as efficiently as my car.  

* Getting a spring clean above is my little VW convertible, a hardtop convertible.  Shortly after I bought a five foot tall panda took up permanent residence in the back seat, hence it is known as the Pandavagon.  

Fabulous Friday - The Spring Bloom

 Locally known as redbuds, these are some of the earliest bloomers here in Northern Virginia.  This was taken earlier in March, before the last snow of the year.  Crocuses and daffodils are about the only thing earlier than these beauties.  We have a few magical weeks of spring bloom, lots of plant reproduction going on out there. 

Thursday Ramble: Biography inspired by Spo

A week or so, Spo, the dear, posted that his employer asked about an updated bio for the office website. He offered answers that he would have enjoyed providing, not the official answers he felt obligated to provide for the dignity of the profession.  Inspired by that, here is what I sometimes wish my office bio included. 

Name: David, but I am really like and older dog, I will respond to anything if it is said in a kind tone of voice (old dogs are the sweetest.) 

How long in this profession? I am on my third profession, and I am still trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up, I will probably be dead by the time I figure that out. 

How long [where you work]? 13 years, seems like I started just yesterday, at times it feels like 500 years. 

Where did you go to school?  This is complicated, elementary school in Michigan, except for the wild hare move to and from Phoenix one year, middle school in Michigan and Florida, I changed schools 8 times in four years of high school. College, I took ten years to finish a four year degree, with the first few classes at a community college that no longer exists, then a country club private liberal arts college where I took a couple of classes a semester, while working 50 to 70 hours a week, law school at the best place that would let me in, then I overcompensated worked super hard and finished well.  

What are your areas of specialized interest, experiences, and/or training? Photography, blogging, travel, flightless waterfowl, sheep, sweet bears (two and four footed,) the mysteries of our strangely wired brains, happiness.  

What led you to those interest areas? Living an adventure filled life with my sweet bear. 

What do you love about [where you work]/what keeps you here? Getting paid to think profound thoughts that few people pay attention to. 

What are you most proud of in your career? (ok - a real answer I would like to have listed) Getting a guardianship case dismissed against a self described "grumpy old son of a bitch" who was living life the way he wanted, even if his kids didn't like it. We need to do more good deeds in our lives.  

What are you doing when you’re not working? In the past few weeks, think, fuss and rant about work.  

Tell us something about you we probably don’t know. Oh, if I told you I'd half to kill you. (That is a DC inside joke based on the number of people who can't really tell you what they do for a living, I wouldn't kill anyone, but there are things I won't talk about.) I was born north of Canada.

The Way We Were Wednesday - Flossy

This is my grandmother's youngest sister Florence, or as she was known Flossy.  The only one of the four siblings who was born in the United States, most likely New York.  She was married to an executive with US Rubber Company, better known as Uniroyal.  Richard, or Dick as he was known was a nice guy, kind of high strung and a hopeless alcoholic.  At one point the doctors recommended a change of scene hoping that he would stay dried out.  After consultation with his bosses at Uniroyal, they sent him on a two year assignment in Scotland, a change of scene, and a change from beer (and lots of it) to Scotch Whiskey, and endless thirst for the good stuff.  A couple of years after he returned from that assignment, the company arranged for him to start drawing a pension and changed the locks on his office door.  The doctors gave up on a detox plan, and he agreed to a drinking schedule, kind of a medication plan (this was in the late 1960's early 1970's) that he was able to stick with most of the time. Flossy was his drinking partner, she was able to detox and stay sober for the last decade of her life, but she had a lot of challenges. The two of them died around 1980, younger and far sicker than would be expected.   

My grandmother and I grew rather close in her later years, she confided in me.  She told me a deep family secret one day - one my father had never heard.  When Flossy was a teenager, she was off at school, came home at break with a baby, her baby.  Her father threw her out of the house with the words "don't ever bring that bastard into our home again."  Flossy returned a few days later, and there was never a mention of the baby.  That helped me understand some of the obvious emotional problems Flossy experienced.  

Travel Tuesday: So What Do You Take Pictures Of

I stopped recently to have my car washed and the windows done inside and out.  I had a camera with me, and didn't want to leave it in the car so I carried it with me when I went inside to pay.  The runner who drove cars from the end of the wash tunnel to where they wipe them down and clean the windows asked "are you a photographer, what do you take pictures of."  Before I finished my answer he had to say "that is great, but I have to run."  

Landscapes, when I travel I try to take photos of changing landscape.  I have a student this spring who is not from this side of the earth, I was trying to explain to him how the terrain changes in just 100 miles from where he is going to college.  He has flown in and out, he does not drive.  His home country is less than 100 miles across.  

Cityscapes.  There is a genre called street photography, and I probably don't fit in that.  But cities are such unique spaces.  

Wildlife, birds, trees, flowers, insects.  And when I travel and they are different that are especially interesting.  Aspens in California last October, in full autumn yellows and golds.  I may never be there at the right time again to see those.  

Dogs, I find most dogs love having their picture taken.  

I could go on, but you probably need to run,  

My Music Monday: Barbra Streisand - Evergreen (Love Theme from "A Star Is Born")

Maybe it was the original movie with Barbra and Kris, there seemed to be chemistry, certainly some of her best work (if you haven't seen it, do so when you can) or maybe it is the voice and lyrics.  This song makes it onto my top ten list.  We are starting to advise people to make lists of the music they would want to listen to, or the movies they would want to watch if they become unable to say what they want.  This one belongs on my list.  Actually almost anything by Barbara. 

The Sunday Five: Warning Signs

I don't know why, but I have started photographing signs, stickers, notices. I kind of enjoy it. It would be helpful sometimes if people came with warning stickers, hence this weeks Sunday five:

What would your warning sticker say about these:

1: Caution if you ask about ____ be prepared for a long answer. 

2: Caution, this person has an inappropriate sense of humor when it comes to ______. 

3: I won't understand references to _______. 

4: Please don't ask me for advice on ______.

5: A mention of ____ will invoke anger. 

My answers: 

1: Caution if you ask about _Cameras_ be prepared for a long answer. 

2: Caution, this person has an inappropriate sense of humor when it comes to _sex_____. 

3: I won't understand references to _novels___. 

4: Please don't ask me for advice on _the law_____.

5: A mention of _he-who-must-not-be-named___ will invoke anger.  

Please share your answers in the comments.  

The Saturday Morning Post - In the light

Reading blogs one morning recently I was reminded of several things, a nice ramble. 

One night about 13 years ago, I forgot to set my alarm clock.  I had used a clock radio since my parents bought me one as a christmas gift when I was about 10 years old.  I awoke the next morning with a start, concerned that I was not alarmed to start the day. Then I realized that I was not late, just shocked by the change.  The next day, I didn't have anything early on my calendar, so I didn't set the alarm, and found that I woke up in plenty of time, and more relaxed, better rested.  Over the years I have heard motivational speakers talk about it being an "opportunity clock" trying to convince us that being unnaturally jolted awake is somehow a good way to start the day.  It isn't.  It is how we are conditioned to live.  And You can undo that.  Only rarely, maybe a couple of times a year do I set an alarm, usually because I have an unreasonably early airline flight.  13 years, I have been late to work maybe twice because I overslept.  And I wake up naturally, often with the rising sun.  Try it, maybe you will like it. 

Another blog (one of my favorites but it might be impolite to show favoritism) asked about acts of kindness.  I had a recent example, of overlooking anger and focussing on solving the core issue.  Sometimes we need to turn the other cheek and search for common ground.  This was not a random act of kindness, it was intentional to defuse a tense situation, and get the two of us back headed toward the light of day.  

Another blog posted about bird feeders. Living in a high rise, a bird feeder is against the rules as the detritus drops on the neighbors below.  But over the past two years I have become much more aware of birds.  When I walk, even in the tree outside my bedroom window.  I have overcome my unnatural fear of flighted fowl. No idea where that fear came from, probably watching "The Birds" late at night as a child. As I sit here watching the rising sun, the doves are in the tree, doing what birds do.  

One recent Mural Monday there was a post of a painting of a watch that has no hands and simply says "Now." It is a line from a Jimmy Buffett song, "I bought a watch from the crazy man, it has no hands, it just says now, and it is always right." The past is past, and can't be changed, I make plans for the future, but I see too many people make plans for a future that will never happen, when what we really need to do is live in the now. If the sun rises for you today, that is when you have to live. 

Another of my favorite daily reads posted a series this week about a wonderful house and garden, a couple of acres of garden, a large comfortable house.  It is the kind of house and garden that I couldn't take care of alone, if I lived there I would need a few of the mistresses houseboys and a couple of farmhands.  I don't usually buy lottery tickets, but it can be fun to think what would I do if I suddenly had all of the money in the world.  I usually sleep easily, if I don't it is usually because I need to divert my mind from the day to day decisions.  One way of doing that for me is to think about what would I do if I won the lottery.  Over the years I have come the conclusion, that I don't want the big house, the big boat, the farm. They are too much work, and employing the people to operate and maintain them would take much of the joy out of life.  I want to be able to watch the sun rise without worrying if Bob is going to show up for work to trim the trees today. Maybe this is a sign that I am largely content with what I have, and were I am in life.  And that is a good thing. 

We went out to Mt Vernon last week for a nice walk. The photo above was taken there.  Great light. 

Fabulous Friday - Happy Birthday to my Sister

March the 18th, two landmarks on this date, my sister's birthday, she is almost two years older than I am - welcome to Medicare.  And second as a family we twice arrived at the Grand Canyon on the the 18th of March, back in the early 1960's.  

I think this is a great early family photo.  It is a little underexposed, not one that was printed or framed.  My sister is squirming a little.  It wasn't favored, but it is the earliest photo of the entire family that I have found.  

Have a fabulous Friday. 

The Thursday Ramble: Adventures I have experienced

Commenting on blogs and reading you comments has reminded me of some of the adventures I have experienced.  I have been fortunate, I have traveled a lot, spent a lot of time with many very bright people, seen and done a couple of lifetimes of adventures, with a few good years left to go. Here are a few unique highlights. 

Attended a tea party hosted by the archbishop of Canterbury in the rose garden at Christ Church College, Oxford. 

A private after hours party in the Gateway Arch in St Louis.

A construction tour of EPCOT, and a pre-opening day at EPCOT. 

A private after hours party in the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom.

Flew on a Zeppelin. 

Seen two Popes in St Peters Square. 

Ridden in multiple steam trains. 

Had a conversation with the First Lady (when Biden was Vice President.) 

Driven on the Autobahn - at over 100 miles per hour legally 

Been passed while driving 100 miles per hour, legally  

And in the words of the bard, "Jimmy there is still so much to be done."  https://youtu.be/8NBWcClR6lY

 

The Way We Were Wednesday - Two Years

Two years ago today, I went to the office, picked up a laptop and copied of a couple of folders and came home for what I thought would be a couple of weeks of work from home isolation.  Not in my wildest imagination did I think that we would still be primarily working at home, two years later.  That I would still be in my box.  

A lot has happened at the office, someone died, someone left, someone retired, two new people have joined us, I have been promoted, all without being there in person.  The way we were, the way we worked, may never be the same. 

But I do hope I get more time outside of the box. 

I have no idea what the story of the guy in the box above is.  I was walking near the King Street station in Alexandria one day and he is in a front yard, with a spotlight. I knew this image would come in handy someday.  
 

Travel Tuesday - Ireland Two Years Ago

We returned from Ireland two years ago today.  Right at the start of work from home, lock down, and all of this fun. 

 

There were a ton of posts two years ago about Ireland.  With time to reflect, it was a great trip in a weird time.  Dublin is a neat city, it is a very modern city, very welcoming.  Trinity college, St Patricks, walking along the river.  We were only in Galway a short time, the drive north from there into the countryside was spectacular.  Neat hotels, great service, nice space (traveling off season prices were low, I booked a suite in one hotel and it was wonderful to have the extra space.) 

The time down south in Kilkenny and Waterford was amazing.  We stayed at a golf resort, operated by Marriott.  The room was nice, the bathroom had a heated floor, I was in love with that.  We drove along the coast for a couple of hours, with a gale blowing in and heavy surf.  It was amazing.  

By the end of it, places were closing, restrictions were starting.  But we still saw and did a lot.  For us it was a wonderful time of the year to travel, no snow or ice, but not hot, not crowded.  If we had been a couple of weeks later going, we would have not been.  Grab the opportunity when you can.  No regrets (well except for driving, I didn't have an accident, others didn't do so well.)  

Details will follow, most likely after the trip, I almost never talk about being gone, before I am gone, I just booked an adventure for later this spring. A return to someplace I have been once and my only regret was that we didn't stay long enough.  Five nights this time.  I needed a passport to book it. 

Music Monday - Rod Stewart ft. Ron Wood - Maggie May /

There is something about this song, when it first came out I made fun of it, I thought it lacked elegance and beauty, "find myself a rock and roll band, that needs a helping hand" - I would mock "like the one you are in." But overtime, over decades it has grown on me.  It is a song about love.  And Rod Stewart, what an amazing long lasting talent.  

Sunday Five - A Connected Life

 While walking at the mall, being tracked by my phone, I stumbled across this refrigerator with an error code in it's internet connection.  I don't know as I want my refrigerator to know that much.  We looked at appliances for the kitchen the sales guy had to demonstrate a matched set that you entered the inventory of what was on hand and it would plan your menus and give you step by step directions.  I was horrified. 

1: Do you have a voice activated smart device in the house? 

2: What is your success level on voice activated devices? 

3: Do you let technology automatically reorder or refill for you? 

4: Have you ever done an online search, then been inundated with ads? 

5: Do you go into incognito mode before doing searches or visiting some webpages? 

My Answers:

1: Do you have a voice activated smart device in the house? There is a video Alexa box in the kitchen, and Amazon is forever suggesting cook books.  

2: What is your success level on voice activated devices? I have never made the voice option work on the GPS in the Benz.  NEVER or me, it only responds the master's voice.  

3: Do you let technology automatically reorder or refill for you? No, I don't need that much organization in my life. I ordered packing tape on Amazon and it asked if I wanted to put that on automatic refill mode, who uses that much packing tape?

4: Have you ever done an online search, then been inundated with ads?  Who hasn't? 

5: Do you do into incognito mode before doing searches or visiting some webpages? From time to time 

Please share your answers in the comments! 

The Saturday Morning Post - Getting Policial

Russia has passed a law, making it a crime to speak out, or report on anything in opposition to Putin waging WAR on Ukraine.  If you refer to it as anything other than a "special military operation" you can go to prison in Russia for 20 years.  It is a WAR, started by one side, Russia, it is beyond a human tragedy. I guess  I will never visit Russia, I just violated their "fake news law."  

The USA suffered for four plus years under he who must not be named, screaming that anything he didn't like was fake news. If he had the power, and if not for the Constitution, I am sure he would have passed a law making speaking ill of him and his actions a crime.  His rants against a free press, should be seen as an act of war on the freedoms that we hold dear.  I don't always agree with the press, but criminalizing the truth, and cutting off outside information in the name of power and control is wrong. 

Larry in PEI, posted a couple of weeks ago about the politics in Canada, and how freedom is conditional. His thoughts were much more eloquent than mine, it is worth finding and reading. 

The classic American example of a limit on freedom of speech is "you can't shout fire in a crowded theater."  Doing so endangers the health and safety of others as the rush for the exits will likely result in injury, not to mention the stress caused by the prank.  I laughed at the "Jackass" movies, but the stunts they pulled, often crossed the line from funny to a danger to others.  Looking back, encouraging them was a bad idea.  

Really the limit on personal freedom is when it presents a danger to others.  Getting vaccinated, and wearing a face covering is really as much about protecting others, as it is about protecting myself.  I have a professional license in Florida, I have had for 40+ years.  A few days ago I received an email from the department of business and professional regulation that I am now prohibited in Florida from requiring face masks in a business in Florida.  The CDC article they linked to was from 2020, and looked at research on the protection for the person wearing the mask, not the protection of others. DeSantis thinks we are stupid enough to read one-side, and not realize there is another side. Oh, and then there is Florida's don't say gay in the schools law - that should bring some interesting litigation. 

As a civilized society we accept a lot of limitations on our freedoms.  I can't drive off in my neighbors car, or hold a party in their living room, because doing so violates their personal property rights.  Thou shall not steal, is part of the implicit agreement of people living together in a society, if I respect your rights, and you respect mine, then I don't need to be prepared to shoot to defend myself and my property. In the era of "Values Education" we have focussed too much an abstinence and not enough on limit what you do so you don't hurt others. 

Sorry for the rare political rant.  There are others that do a better and more consistent job of this than I.  Sometimes, things just need to be said.