Useless Observations

Worry Not

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Hey Kids,

I let myself get all worked up yesterday over something I expected to happen today.

The injustice. The Ignorance. The whole wrong of the thing.Buddhist-worry

Then today, nothing. It was just like every other day.

The thing I expected may still happen, but it didn’t today.

I’ve heard before that worry is interest paid on things yet to happen.

I paid way too much interest over last night.

Sometimes it’s worth just being chill and let things come as they come.

Especially if you have no option to change it if it does.

 

Day 200

Explain It As Many Times As You Wish

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Hey Kids,

I apologize for the simplicity of this post tonight but I can’t wrap my head around it.

The red rock in Utah, particularly in Arches National Park is petrified sand from the ocean floor.IMG_20150906_125102_968

I get that there was once an ocean here, as strange as it is now, being desert and all, but I can imagine that.

It’s the part of just how much sand was left behind to get pressed and pressured into rock that is now towers above where we now stand.

My mind is blown.

 

Day 197

Labor Day

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Hey Kids,

Labor Day.

I’m not so savvy as to the beginnings and meaning of Labor Day but taking it at its face value, it’s to honor and celebrate the workers of the country.comfort-knowing-pressure-fun-labor-day-ecard-someecards

Some observations:

1) The higher you get paid, the more likely you get Labor Day off.

2) If you get the day off, not only are you higher paid normally, you are more likely to get paid for the day too.

3) Those who are off and getting paid are very likely to visit places where those who are not off have to work. And not very forgiving to those places closed or short staffed today.

4) Summer is declared over, yet good weather will continue for weeks to come. Many will ignore the good weather and bemoan how short the summer had been.

5) Nobody knows what Labor Day is; other than the “official” end of summer.

6) 50% of people still struggle if this week was Labor Day or Memorial Day.

7) I cannot prove any of the points above. But I’ll take any and all three day weekends offered.

 

Day 196

Maybe Your Baby Ate the Dingo

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Hey Kids,

Did you know that Netflix was offered to Blockbuster for $50 million dollars?

In the early 2000’s, Netflix hoped to be purchased by industry leader Blockbuster to help take it into the future. Unfortunately for Blockbuster and fortunately for us and Netflix, they passed.

I understand that Blockbuster felt that their data suggested that mail-order video rental was not what the customer wanted, let alone streaming. 56K modems were already as fast as the internet could deliver for most people. Movies online was fanciful. The shopping experience and the chance meeting with friends and neighbors were what that people wanted.netflix-blockbuster-slice

Blockbuster didn’t see the future. They lost. Netflix did once they looked past Blockbuster and they won. At least for longer than Blockbuster. Other challenges and challengers now threaten Netflix.

I doubt that had Blockbuster bought Netflix, Netflix would be the same company as what we see today. If they struggled to decide whether to buy the baby company that when left to its own devices would eat them; then I doubt they would have done the things that made Netflix the industry leader.

We the consumers won because Netflix offers to us a better service than Blockbuster ever would have. I miss the video stores, but then again, I don’t. Picking out movies from the couch is a luxury I would not give up now.

I have my own dinosaur ways of doing things. Some might think a blog is a thing of the past. I constantly ask myself if the things I do is because it’s the best way to do them, or is it just the way I’m doing them.

Do what’s right now and know that right may be different tomorrow.

Or, don’t let the baby grow up and eat you.

 

Day 194

Rebellion Ended

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Hey Kids,

What’s all the hurry?

Recently I’ve been nearly run off the road with cars in a rush to get somewhere. The practice of guarding your lane while on the motorcycle has become more important than what I have experienced in the past. If you’re not using that side of the lane, they’ll pass you in it.

The speed limits on the highways have gone up from 65 to 70 in the city and 75 to 80 out of it.

I Can't Drive 55, and now I don't have to.

I Can’t Drive 55, and now I don’t have to.

Cars, simple cars, like Corolla type cars zoom around at 75 like it’s nothing.

I’m not opposed to speed, mind you.

No, the thing that bothers me the most is that it’s no longer rebellious to go fast.

It’s the standard.

 

Day 193

Abandoned

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Hey Kids,

Driving through the countryside, I see abandoned houses slowly melting back into forgotten history.

I wonder how they got to be like that.cbe372c403d1a5c4c0c465f54c0b960a

What happens to a home to make it no longer a home? How does a person walk out the door and never return. Did he or she know they would be the last resident?

I wonder if memories remain. Is there anybody who still remembers living in the house? Does the house still remember the people that lived within it?

I can’t recover the history, but by noting the buildings as I see them, I feel I somehow pay my respects.

And somehow that makes the abandoned home a little less abandoned.

 

Day 190

Petty

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Hey Kids,

I like big picture thinking.

Standing back and looking at the whole scenario, as opposed to reacting to each individual action, I believe, will net you more success.

Riding a motorcycle through a turn, it’s important to look where you want to go. If you watch the yellow line tracing the outside of the turn, that is exactly where you will go. Target fixation it is called.

Look down the road, not at it. Yet, keep your eyes on the alert for important details such as potholes, loose gravel, and stray varmints darting into your path. And sometimes, you can find stuff like that too. I have a weird collection of things I’ve picked up from the streets. However, that might have to wait for another blog.

I like having the Police around. They are a safety net to our society. That’s the big picture. They can also be the annoying yellow lines tracing the limits of our smooth riding. They issue speeding tickets, they enforce registration, and they can pull you over for loud pipes. In the big picture, it’s good they do that stuff. But it does foster a love/hate relationship.

1394300455_e38f4ff35dThis morning I saw a State Trooper waiting at a stop sign waiting for his chance to pull into the steady flow of commute traffic. Being on the bike, I maintain a larger following distance behind the car in front of me as compared to normal commute bumper-to-bumper. I thought for a second about slowing down a few clicks and give him the opportunity to slide in front of me. He’s an officer of the state and most likely it would be a good thing to let him be on his business as soon as possible.

Small picture thinking took over.

I sped up and made sure he couldn’t get into traffic. I made him wait even longer. Like we have to do when they pass with their lights on.

Petty? Sure. Feel good? Yes sir.

Sometimes you just have to take those little pleasures when they come. The big picture will still be there.

 

Day 183

Sourdough

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Hey Kids,

San Francisco Sourdough, the super tangy bread that supposedly can only be made correctly in the sea soaked, humid air of the City, is a bread but it is not sourdough. Not exclusively, anyway. Sourdough is a process.

Instead of using traditional yeast, one uses a mixture of flour and water to culture bacteria that when added to more flour and water, allows the bread to rise. It has a distinct taste and is a little bit of a challenge to manage but some feel it’s how bread should be made.

It’s like cooking over a stove vs. cooking over the coals. Both techniques arrive at the same general conclusion, but each has its own characteristics. Like cooking over the coals, sourdough is more fraught with failure if not done right.

I enjoy the challenge and have learned to make delicious bread, yummy pancakes, and Holy Cow pizza crusts. Yes, all the staples of life.

Fresh Sourdough. Yum!

Fresh Sourdough. Yum!

But one of the questions I’m asked on a regular basis is “Do you make the bread completely from scratch?”

Well it depends on your definition of scratch.

I do feed my starter on a regular basis. The bacteria needs to be kept alive in the refrigerator. Yes, alive. Like a pet creature.

I do mix the flour, salt, and water with the starter and create the bread dough from mixing the ingredients together.

I do not carry the water from the stream to the kitchen.

I do not grow the wheat and mill my own flour.

I do not evaporate sea water to make the salt.

I do not make a fire but do use an electric oven. And no, I didn’t construct the oven on my own.

I don’t churn the butter and I don’t toast the bread on a hot rock.

I’m not sure where one draws the line for “from scratch”, but I can tell you that when the house smells of fresh bread and the butter melts onto a warm slice of sourdough bread, it doesn’t matter.

And is well worth keeping and feeding the little creature in your refrigerator.

 

Day 182

A Long or Short History

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Hey Kids,

I remember 1977.

Star Wars. That was really what that year was about. How many times did you go to see it? We were poor, and yet I saw the movie at the theatre maybe 4 or 5 times. When was the last time you watched a movie at the theatre 4 or 5 times? Me, never before and never since. And my 4 or 5 times was nothing to what many of my friends did.

1977 was also the middle of a serious drought in the west. We lived in Reno at the time and the Truckee River through downtown dwindled to more of a creek and series of puddle holes, from what I remember. When things finally got better, the question became whither it was the end of the drought or just a slight reprieve to possibly a longer drought, not yet realized.

And then in the early 1990’s, I left California in the middle of yet another drought. The reservoirs all drew down to then historic levels. One lake in particular drew down to expose the old dam before they built the much larger new dam. Again, the weather changed and the drought subsided.

Without going into a long history, this has been the pattern of the West my entire life. Yet during these times, we have figured out how to manage it. Our lakes fill. Our lakes empty. Too much rain one year. Too little the next.

I’m not a climate change expert and I really think it’s beyond my scope to understand it all. I like the Earth and without being a total alarmist, I do what I can to help. If help is even possible. For all I know what we see happening can be part of a larger picture that we cannot map in just 200 years of history. Hasn’t the earth froze over and thawed a couple of times that we know of? I don’t know, and I really, beyond recycling, using the AC less, trying to get the best fuel mileage, and etc.; I don’t see my part or opinion as very crucial.

Sizing up the exposed dam. That spillway is a long way up there. East Canyon Res., Utah

Sizing up the exposed dam. That spillway is a long way up there. East Canyon Res., Utah

But while I’m here, I’m going to enjoy the Earth my time has allotted to me. I’ll fish the streams, I’ll hike the mountains, and like today, I’ll Kayak the lakes.

None of us had any idea that nearly 40 years later we would be awaiting the release of a new Star Wars movie and the West would be in yet another drought. 40 years again from now, I hope people are still wondering if the lake is half full or half empty; and I’ll be the old man in the middle yelling “Fish on!”

 

Day 181

As Good As A Poke With a Stick

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Hey Kids,

It’s fire season.

That means lots of wildfires here in the West. Thousands if not millions of acres will burn. I don’t understand why?

Have you ever tried to start a fire? Have you been in charge of maintaining the fire? Have you ever needed a fire to cook your food? When you’re famished or had others waiting on you to feed them?

You work to get the kindling just right, the tender situated just so, light it, baby it until it can burn grown-up wood and then…it topples over and goes out. I can have a fire going for an hour, poke it with a stick a couple of times and it’s out!

A Fire, it is not

A Fire, it is not

Yet get two kids and a couple of firecrackers and next you’ll have hundreds of firefighters, a couple of helicopters, and about a million dollars to put it out.

What they should do is hire me. I’d simply poke the fire a couple of times with a stick and it’d be out in no time!

If it’s really a big fire, just line up a couple of hungry campers with fire-ready Dutch oven dinners ready to cook, and ask them to maintain it. The fire won’t stand a chance.

Day 167