The Thoughts of a Frumpy Professor

............................................ ............................................ A blog devoted to the ramblings of a small town, middle aged college professor as he experiences life and all its strange variances.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Bioaccumulation


Bioaccumulation is one of the big topics in physiology these days.  For those of us who consume meat, we are pretty damn high up the food chain and this can impact us greatly.  People who are more vegetarian or vegan will be a bit less affected.  However, EVERYONE is at risk, due to our polluted world.

PipeTobacco

Monday, June 29, 2015

Wanting and Doing Are Two Seperate Things



Most every afternoon and evening I start out with the idea that I am going to start my pipe tobacco free effort and I do.... until I get up in the morning.  I have had a difficult time refraining from the first pipe in the early morning hours at 5:00am.  I need to figure out a way to force myself past that time. 

Even though it is not much progress, I can say that I have reduced my pipe tobacco consumption by 1/2 during the last two months.  I should do better.  I will do better.

PipeTobacco

Sunday, June 28, 2015

From Mass This Weekend



'God did not make death,
nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.
For he fashioned all things that they might have being;
and the creatures of the world are wholesome,
and there is not a destructive drug among them
nor any domain of the netherworld on earth,
for justice is undying.
For God formed man to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made him.
But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world,
and they who belong to his company experience it.'

 - Book of Wisdom

The above was our first reading at mass this weekend.  It is valuable and important to think about.  I (and probably many others) get so tied up in such small worries and trivial problems that we fail to live our fullest with those we love.  I want to stop being so focused on the trival and to instead focus on the meaningful.

PipeTobacco

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Cleaning The Garage



Due to my own ineptitude and slovenliness, I have allowed the garage to get unusably messy.  Because of my sentimentality about all sorts of sh*t, I have a tendency to want to save things... a lot more than is appropriate.  In order to combat my nature in this regard, I have taken to watching the television show, "Hoarders: Buried Alive"  on TLC.  It helps me to fight the tendency I have, to want to SAVE damn near everything.  It gives me the resolve to not be like a hoarder.  It is actually far more helpful than I would have imagined.... almost akin to aversion therapy.  Or, like B.F. Skinner coined, "negative reinforcement".    I am now going to go back outside to box and/or trash more items. 

PipeTobacco

Friday, June 26, 2015

A Pipe Dream, But A Damn Good One

In my dreams, the perfect political ticket for this election cycle is the one shown above.  I would very much relish an administration that Hillary Clinton as president and Bernie Sanders and vice-president. 

Both Clinton and Sanders are amazing people and their take on various political and social justice issues would help to fix much of what is currently wrong in our American Society.  In my opinion, the Clinton/Sanders team would be better than the last eight years of Obama/Biden (they were unfortunately only "average" IMHO), and the Clinton/Sanders team would be a helluva lot better than anything the Republicans would ever put together. 

Sadly, I am not sure if Clinton and/or Sanders would be agreeable to teaming up.  I sure hope they will, however.

PipeTobacco

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Controlled By a Damn Plant






Above is the damn plant that seems to be stronger than I am.  It is a tobacco plant.  I do not like that I am being controlled by the damn thing and I want to break free.  It will be a battle of my will against those damn leaves.

PipeTobacco

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Close Will Have to Be My Start



Billy Pilgrim commented on my previous post saying that he thought it would be easier to be 100% tobacco free than mostly free.  I see the logic in what he is saying, but on an emotional level it seems harder for me to contemplate. 

I am still thinking/planning I will attempt to  go "tobacco nearly free" very soon. What I believe and hope is means for me is that I will refrain from smoking my pipe other than on those occasions where I am drinking.  For me, this means typically that if I drink, it is usually on a Friday afternoon with my elderly father-in-law, and this probably happens twice or perhaps three times a month.. 

The reality is that I want to (theoretically) stop completely.  But my nature is such that I find the idea of "forever" being very, very disheartening.  I am hoping that if I get enough "tobacco nearly free" days under my belt, then I may very well feel confident enough to chuck all my pipes and tobaccos away for good.  But, I am not quite there yet.  Hell, I am not even yet to the "tobacco nearly free" state.... but I am planning to have that begin soon.

PipeTobacco

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Well...

The post below this one was just published but was written yesterday.  It appears I did not publish it correctly as I was perhaps a bit "unfocused" at the time.  

But, I am serious in my goal of seriously reducing my pipe tobacco consumption. I remember feeling much better during the six weeks I did so in Lent of 2014.  I want to get back to that.  

There is no reason I cannot wrangle my resolve and my determination and do this!  I feel as if a plant is controlling me and that is idiotic.  My current plan is to smoke less today and on Sunday, and to have Monday be a first day for me to refrain for a full 24 hours.   Currently I am thinking I will do again what worked in that prior Lent.... Namely to refrain completely except for when I happen to be drinking.  

Realistically, I drink on Fridays, but not every Friday.  So, with this idea in mind, I should end up being pipe tobacco free at least 6 days a week.  If (when) I do this, I can then focus on the good feelings of not smoking my pipe with the added eventual goal of not smoking my pipe even if drinking.  That may take a bit more time, however.  So,  I think this is the start date of this new path for me.

PopeTobacco

Big Furry Faced Grin

I am slightly tipsy as I write this, but wanted to let you know that even though my pipe is pleasantly in my maw as I type, I do have my plan for being pretty much pipe tobacco free, and plan to begin the process in the next few days!

PipeTobacco

Thursday, June 04, 2015

Bah!

I am going to quit my pipe.  I am going to  create a plan that works so that I am not being governed to or dictated to by the leaf of a plant.

PipeTobacco

Bah!

I am going to quit my pipe.  I am going to  create a plan that works so that I am not being governed to or dictated to by the leaf of a plant.

PipeTobacco