Life should start at an advanced age and end in the womb. Somehow, Nature got it all backward. If we started life with the wisdom gained through longevity, young people would be blindingly brilliant as they edged closer to their pre-existence. People who start life with the exceptional experience of a long period of growing experience and who build on that experience as they grow younger would excel!
I recognize the problem, of course, in that the experience of a long life wouldn't be available if we began life as elders with no experience. That's not my problem. That problem belongs squarely in the lap of the people who are going to solve this dilemma. My job is big picture thinking...I leave the tactical crap to my minions. Speaking of which, where ARE they? I haven't seen them in years...maybe they've gotten progressively younger and are...gone.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
The Office
Night comes early these days, these days of winter in north Texas. The spine-snapping cold forecast by the meteorological brain trust has, so far, failed to materialize. This makes me happy, though I do feel that I've missed far too many winters in recent years. Living in north Texas used to guarantee actual seasons (well, good facsimiles thereof), unlike the odd wintertime cold of the tropical climate on the Texas coast where I grew up.
When I was a child, I went swimming in a salt-water bay, went fishing in the bay and in nearby waterways, and visited the spectacular world protected by the Aransas National Wildlife Preserve...or whatever it's called at the moment. That was a strange life, though I did not know it at the time. I didn't know enough to realize that warm tropical winters, punctuated with blue northers that could freeze one's soul, were odd. I know it now. But they were odd only in the sense that the periods of cold seemed out of place on the tropical coast. Now, they rarely occur any more. And that's truly odd.
North Texas winters are getting less predictable in some ways, more predictable in others. It's a safe bet that, every year, there will be at least one major "ice event" and lots of unpleasantly cold, rainy weather. Unpleasantly cold, in north Texas, varies according to the humidity. It's not a safe bet these days to assume that we will have more than a very brief period of weather that can be realistically called "winter weather."
The early nights of North Texas send me indoors early these days, so I miss both the dropping temperatures of the evening and the light of day fading so quickly into darkness. I miss that. I really miss that. Time to explore the world, whether close or far away. I understand the office far too well...time to explore the world beyond.
When I was a child, I went swimming in a salt-water bay, went fishing in the bay and in nearby waterways, and visited the spectacular world protected by the Aransas National Wildlife Preserve...or whatever it's called at the moment. That was a strange life, though I did not know it at the time. I didn't know enough to realize that warm tropical winters, punctuated with blue northers that could freeze one's soul, were odd. I know it now. But they were odd only in the sense that the periods of cold seemed out of place on the tropical coast. Now, they rarely occur any more. And that's truly odd.
North Texas winters are getting less predictable in some ways, more predictable in others. It's a safe bet that, every year, there will be at least one major "ice event" and lots of unpleasantly cold, rainy weather. Unpleasantly cold, in north Texas, varies according to the humidity. It's not a safe bet these days to assume that we will have more than a very brief period of weather that can be realistically called "winter weather."
The early nights of North Texas send me indoors early these days, so I miss both the dropping temperatures of the evening and the light of day fading so quickly into darkness. I miss that. I really miss that. Time to explore the world, whether close or far away. I understand the office far too well...time to explore the world beyond.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Indian Recipes...for no reason other than I want to post them
You may know I have an almost unnatural adoration of Indian food. You may not know it. I do. I do not consider it unnatural, though...I think I must have been infused with Indian blood during an early-life transfusion. At any rate, my point is this: here are some very interesting recipes that I have not tried, but certainly will (and I hope I introduce you to some interesting Indian food blogs in the process):
Ginger~Garlic~Coriander Paste--From Mahanandi: Cooking With Consciousness
A is for Aloo Gobi--from One Hot Stove
Red Soup--from Saffron Trail
Ginger~Garlic~Coriander Paste--From Mahanandi: Cooking With Consciousness
A is for Aloo Gobi--from One Hot Stove
Red Soup--from Saffron Trail
Spine-Snapping Cold
Spine-snapping cold is what snaps my spine. And 'they' say it is coming back to the wilds of North Texas.
Remember that, next time you find yourself wondering.
Remember that, next time you find yourself wondering.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Tears
My wife and I have unspoken conversations, some days. We each wonder why the other is so easily moved to tears. We each wonder why the other wilts and cries and finds pain in what we hear about someone else's pain, the pain of someone we've never met, never even heard about. Maybe that is good. Maybe the fact that we mourn for people we don't know is a sign of goodness. I don't know. Maybe it is a sign that we aren't suited for this very, very hard world. I'm not an old man, but one day I hope to be. And if I become that old man, I will be an old man who cries at the drop of a hat. It's embarrassing on the one hand, simply hard to explain on the other. Which is it? Is it just strange, or is it an indication of a unique weakness or a unique emotional link to a hard, hard world?
A good blogger friend wonders the same thing. Why can we not control the tears and the pain, particularly when it is not our pain, not our hardship that we encounter? I wonder, too. I wonder why a 53-year-old guy sometimes cannot be stoic the way 53-year-old guys are supposed to be. It's embarrassing to melt into a sobbing mass when a 13-year-old would be able to deal with it on a more adult level.
I want to have a conversation with someone who can understand the point of the conversation...someone who is equally uncomfortable with the uninvited tears and the uninvited emotion. We can share what it's like to be full-blown adults who cannot help but wither into tears at the most inopportune times. Someone must have dealt with this and conquered it. Geezers are not supposed to be simpering wimps. I have that on good authority.
I recognize, of course, that I am just wierd in some sense...I am a full-blown adult who has wierd cry-baby impulses. Such is life. I have to deal with it, or find a cure. No one has stepped forward with a cure, so I have to try to make this character flaw into a potential strength....but I could use your help.
Off topic: I had a reply tonight from someone to whom I had written a message after learning of his father's death. Damn, that is so hard. Fathers and mothers are powerful people, powerful forces in our lives. Their loss is painful. Another reason for me to weep. Maybe my tears are OK, after all.
A good blogger friend wonders the same thing. Why can we not control the tears and the pain, particularly when it is not our pain, not our hardship that we encounter? I wonder, too. I wonder why a 53-year-old guy sometimes cannot be stoic the way 53-year-old guys are supposed to be. It's embarrassing to melt into a sobbing mass when a 13-year-old would be able to deal with it on a more adult level.
I want to have a conversation with someone who can understand the point of the conversation...someone who is equally uncomfortable with the uninvited tears and the uninvited emotion. We can share what it's like to be full-blown adults who cannot help but wither into tears at the most inopportune times. Someone must have dealt with this and conquered it. Geezers are not supposed to be simpering wimps. I have that on good authority.
I recognize, of course, that I am just wierd in some sense...I am a full-blown adult who has wierd cry-baby impulses. Such is life. I have to deal with it, or find a cure. No one has stepped forward with a cure, so I have to try to make this character flaw into a potential strength....but I could use your help.
Off topic: I had a reply tonight from someone to whom I had written a message after learning of his father's death. Damn, that is so hard. Fathers and mothers are powerful people, powerful forces in our lives. Their loss is painful. Another reason for me to weep. Maybe my tears are OK, after all.
Peace Offering
I just had to show you this photo from Burning Silo. I encourage you to read the post and the comments.
Eclectica
I took the easy way out last night. I posted an earlier attempt at poetry in lieu of posting a blank page or posting something new and awful. My decision to plagiarize myself was testament to something, but I don't know what. Today, I'll break the shackles of dullness that have gripped me these last few days. Here's what I'm thinking and seeing at the moment...nothing earth-shattering of particularly orginal here, just my world through my eyes.
Read about Leo Prieto, one of Chile's staunchest advocates of technology for the masses. Aside from building what he believes will be a much better social networking site than Craigslist, he advocates for One Laptop Per Child (OLPC).
The Futurist, the magazine published by the World Future Society, offers up its top 10 list of forecasts for 2007, none of which are, in my view, particularly earth-shattering, but some of which do strike a nerve with me. I was particularly interested in the forecast that huge numbers of Generation Y will migrate outside the U.S.
The New York Times expresses its editorial opinion about the $500 million Bush presidential library that is to be built at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. I shudder at the idea of a memorial to the Bush presidency where I live, but would welcome it if Bush rescinds Executive Order 13233. A library in which the massive mistakes and blunderings and lies of this administration are finally opened to public review would serve the country, though the identity of the donors of the $500 million they're saying it will cost should be public record.
A new budget airline, Sky Express, will launch on Monday in Russia. According to The Moscow Times, internal flights in Russia have dropped from 130 million annually to 20 million annually during the past 20 years, due to cost, among other things. The new budget carrier expects to help reverse that trend.
I've been to Halifax, Nova Scotia just once, about nine or ten years ago, but really enjoyed my short time there and I'd like to go back for a longer visit. Interesting, they call it the Halifax Regional Municipality...don't know why, but I like that.
In keeping with my commitment to encourage conversations about ways we can make significant differences in our communities, I'd like to ask readers of today's post to tell me...either publicly on this blog or privately via email to musingsfrommyopiaATyahooDOTcom...what you do to have an impact on your community. I think we sometimes do not realize the impact we are having until we give the topic dedicated thought. And we can learn from one another.
I've been intrigued by the Snap.com previews of site links, so I am giving it a try.
And that's enough for me before my second cup of coffee.
Read about Leo Prieto, one of Chile's staunchest advocates of technology for the masses. Aside from building what he believes will be a much better social networking site than Craigslist, he advocates for One Laptop Per Child (OLPC).
The Futurist, the magazine published by the World Future Society, offers up its top 10 list of forecasts for 2007, none of which are, in my view, particularly earth-shattering, but some of which do strike a nerve with me. I was particularly interested in the forecast that huge numbers of Generation Y will migrate outside the U.S.
The New York Times expresses its editorial opinion about the $500 million Bush presidential library that is to be built at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. I shudder at the idea of a memorial to the Bush presidency where I live, but would welcome it if Bush rescinds Executive Order 13233. A library in which the massive mistakes and blunderings and lies of this administration are finally opened to public review would serve the country, though the identity of the donors of the $500 million they're saying it will cost should be public record.
A new budget airline, Sky Express, will launch on Monday in Russia. According to The Moscow Times, internal flights in Russia have dropped from 130 million annually to 20 million annually during the past 20 years, due to cost, among other things. The new budget carrier expects to help reverse that trend.
I've been to Halifax, Nova Scotia just once, about nine or ten years ago, but really enjoyed my short time there and I'd like to go back for a longer visit. Interesting, they call it the Halifax Regional Municipality...don't know why, but I like that.
In keeping with my commitment to encourage conversations about ways we can make significant differences in our communities, I'd like to ask readers of today's post to tell me...either publicly on this blog or privately via email to musingsfrommyopiaATyahooDOTcom...what you do to have an impact on your community. I think we sometimes do not realize the impact we are having until we give the topic dedicated thought. And we can learn from one another.
I've been intrigued by the Snap.com previews of site links, so I am giving it a try.
And that's enough for me before my second cup of coffee.