Hey Kids,
Post 3-071
Month: March 2017
Straight Down
Hey Kids,
In a meeting with a staff member today, this quote on diplomacy came up in conversation. Although I misquoted it and wrongly attributed it to Henry Kissinger, it’s still a good quote.
I should’ve known it was the great Winston Churchill and better than I remember.
“Diplomacy is the art of telling people to go to hell in such a way that they ask for directions.” -Winston Churchill
Post 3-070
And No Dishes
Hey Kids,
I was shocked when my wife specified that she wanted her birthday cake store-bought and not homemade.
This was odd because I feel the exact opposite. I compromised and bought one from a fine bakery. It
appeased us both.
I know the inclination is that homemade should be better, and at times it is. Tacos, Lasagna, and roasts come to mind. (And of course cake.) But as I think of it, there are somethings that just cannot be replicated at home, although they may be still be good.
Pizza. Sorry, no homemade pizza can match a pizzeria. Even those done on the grill. The crust is better, the meats are better, and the cheese- oh the cheese. It just doesn’t cook the same way at home. Sause can be better at home, but that’s only 1 of 4 items of this discussion. And day old pizza- the gap between the two methodologies widens even more.
Donuts. Homemade donuts are great but they’re usually odd shaped and bizarrely finished. And again, like pizza, during the creating process at a dedicated donut making place, the taste and blending of flavors cannot be matched at home. And no one, I mean no one, has ever made an apple fritter that can beat a professional’s apple fritter. I am a fritter eating specialist. Remember my post a few days ago about needing to lose 100 pounds. I wasn’t born this way.
Hamburgers. Yup, I said it. Hamburgers at a hamburger joint are better than anything off your daddy’s grill, especially my daddy’s grill. I don’t know if people try too hard or not enough but the efforts never quite surpass the chef in the pointy hat. I’ve made some good ones at home, but they can only equal but never better the slap-it-on-the fryer burger and yes I want fries with that.
So homemade or eat out? It depends.
Post 3-069
If Ever the Twain Should Meet
Hey Kids,
Wasting a few hours… err, minutes on Facebook today and I came across one of those irresistible click-bait postings. Most I can easily avoid because I don’t care what Disney character or X-men personalities I am most like. But today I had to do it: “Rare images nearly forgotten in the past”.
I have a thing for old stuff and the photos are the best. They make us realize the differences between then and now. The clothes, the cars, and the places around them. The old photos also have an aura of creepy about them. I don’t know if it’s the black and white finish or the non-practiced-selfie unnatural pose and expressions but the people seem even more separated from their photos as the aged photos are from us.
Twain in the lab of Tesla
In the middle of this 89 photo collection, however, I found a gem- my favorite author Mark Twain hanging out with my favorite genius/inventor Nikola Tesla.
Who know they know each other? Funny though. Twain was a crowd favorite on the stage and engaging the interest of all around him, yet he was a failed inventor. Tesla was arguably the most ingenious inventor yet lacked the public skills to properly demonstrate the scope of his vision.
What could’ve happened if the two had actually been one?
Too bad they didn’t have Facebook to follow each other better back then.
Post 3-068
I’m an Observer
Hey Kids,
Today is National Pancake Day!
This morning was a typical morning: sleep as late as you can, rush through the shower, dressing, and bowl of cereal as fast you can so not to be late.
Due to the snow yesterday and call for occasional flurries today, I was bus bound- no motorcycle. The schedule knows no mercy and I had to be at the stop on time. There would be no time for pancakes this morning.
IHOP was even giving away free pancakes for those who stopped in.
Dang it.
But I’m an adult. And being an adult, I can eat breakfast anytime I want.
It’ll be Pancakes for dinner tonight!
Post 3-067
Weather or Not
Hey Kids,
Yesterday was 62 degrees in the early afternoon. There was snow on the ground before we went to bed. Give it two days and we’ll be back up near 60. Thus is springtime in Utah.
As a motorcyclist, this is the time of year I have to watch the weather like it’s interesting. Conditions can change hourly and the conditions during the morning commute are irrelevant in regards to what they might be for the evening commute.
There has been a few times I failed to watch the weather and have been caught in an afternoon snow storm. The windshield on the bike has caked over with snow and my glasses have fogged up so thick I could barely see.
I’ve learned it’s imperative to keep the tires in the tracks in the snow made by the cars ahead or feel the bike try to slide out from under you. And to ignore the people who honk at you for going so slow around the turns. So far, however, I’ve always made it home.
It’s a challenge, but I’d have it no other way.
Post 3-066
Tipping the Scales of Time
Hey Kids,
I’m overweight.
No, actually, I’m double-weight. Close enough anyway.
When I was a young man, I wasn’t. Instead, a skinny 140 pound kid was I.
In an attempt to gain extra playing-weight for high school football, I ate everything I could get my hands on. After the last game of my junior year and the bright lights of my first senior year game, along with constant weight-training, my new body tipped the scales at 145 pounds, a grand total gain of 5 pounds.
My problem has changed. I can gain 5 pounds before breakfast now. Over the course of the 30 years since high school, I have vastly surpassed my playing weight goals. I’ve tried to be more conscience of what I eat, but that just makes me hungry. A visit to the gym this morning hasn’t helped yet either (maybe I need to do it for three days in a row or something).
Seriously I need to shed pounds, if for no other reason than to help the kayak stay afloat. Rid of 90-100 extra pounds, it’ll be easy to hike the mountains I want to summit, clothes will be cheaper, shoes will last longer, and I’ll save gas on the motorcycle with every ride.
A thinner me is a good idea.
A thinner me is necessary.
A thinner me is coming.
Post 3-065
Waste Not, Want Not.
Hey Kids,
Wasting time is not as easy as it may appear.
It takes hours, days, weeks, a lifetime to learn how to do it properly.
It takes study and a keen awareness of present circumstances to know when to do it.
The weather plays a big part as well. How to dress to stay as comfortable as possible cannot be overlooked.
The company you keep is as important as all the rest. Choose wisely.
Equipment: get the best your money can buy.
Location: not all places are created equal.
Now pick your water, grab your rod and reel, sport your sunglasses, rain jacket or hat, invite an equally skilled partner, read the latest reports, and get fishing.
Time is not refundable, don’t waste it not fishing.
Post 3-064
Home
Hey Kids,
England. Scotland. Ireland.
France.
Sweden. Denmark.
I hear they’re all great places. I can only vouch for France.
I loved France and the French language. I even found a deep fondness of the French people. I ate their cheeses. I rode their trains. I regret I didn’t try their wine, but I hear it’s top notch.
Paris was everything they say it would be. The Eiffel Tower, the Metro, and the Avenue des Champs-Elysees are living art pieces. And the Lady of them all, Notre Dame, captured my eternal admiration from atop the right bell tower, watching the city bustle below on a sunny afternoon. I love that city. If you get the chance to go, do it.
So what’s with the other countries I listed? They are countries from where my ancestors came.
I know near nothing about them. If time and resources allow me, I hope to visit them all. They are my countries, my homes, and the lands of the people who gave me everything.
For whatever reason, they left those places. Given what they knew, their hope lied across the sea, over here in America. Better future for them. Better future for me.
So when I read an article, like I did today, that America is no longer within the top 20 preferred places from where to own a passport (tied for 35th); I honestly can’t think of any other place I would trade with.
I’m right where some people who knew better, left me.
Post 3-063
Digital Quicksand
Hey Kids,
If the Internet serves no other purpose, it’s the #1 source and distributor of outlandish and unprovable conspiracies.
It never disappoints, but you don’t get a refund on the time lost from your life due to “research”.
Post 3-062
Mike M Jensen 