Done

My father's birthday has passed.  He would now be 96 years old if still alive.

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Decisions....

Even though my father's birthday is very soon, I have not yet made a decision in regards to whether I will re-establish my ritual of 25 years of smoking a pipe or two when I go visit the cemetery.  I would very much like to do so.  But, is my want to do so, in remembrance of my father, or is my own selfish want?  Or is it both?

And, is it “ok” to do so.... meaning I will then simply stop at that (until the next year’s birthday), or will I awaken the beautiful joys provided by my pipes back into my mind so that I no longer resist and simply continue?  And, if I re-entered the avocation, would that be appropriate?

I have many things to contemplate in this regard.  But, I no longer have much time before the date is upon me for a concrete decision.

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Turkey Trot

Happily, with a surprising bit of warm weather here for the next two days (highs around 42 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius), I am anticipating that we may be lucky enough to have the snow melt in our yard.  We have already experienced an early, substantial snowfall this year.  If it melts away, this would be wonderful for two reasons:

1.  I typically try to put out Christmas lights and decorations during Thanksgiving week and this would likely make this again possible.  There was too much snow in the yard and on the trees to place cords and lights successfully at the moment.  If we do get the melt, I can route electrical cords and place lights on bushes and trees and place other decorations. 

and if the snow DOES melt, and the current forecast holds.... we do not have any anticipated snow through Thanksgiving itself I may:

2.  Sign up for running in a local "Turkey Trot" 5K Run on Thanksgiving morning.   The particular race I am thinking of has runners go through a wooded park for the race, and the best thing (for me) is that they also sell "Turkey Trot" t-shirts.... so if I do it, I will be able to buy a shirt as my "trophy"!  An added bonus is that the shirts this year are a pumpkin pie color which is a color I do not currently have in the form of a t-shirt either.  

If the snow stays away, I will feel comfortable about running the race out-of-doors, because I then feel I will have a reasonably good chance of not being a klutz and slipping/falling during the run. 

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Roasted Chickpeas

During this past weekend, I found some time to make a batch of something I had been meaning to try for at least a year.  As you may realize, I have found garbanzo beans (chickpeas) to be a really great food that I have been eating more and more frequently over the last several years.   My wife and I make all sorts of curried Indian dishes with chickpeas, I have made some Mexican inspired dishes as well.  We have added them into various stews, soups and chills and we eat and often make our own hummus from chickpeas.  

Well, somewhere, perhaps about a year ago or so, I remember reading somewhere on-line about someone roasting chickpeas as a snack.  The way they did it was to coat them in olive oil and roast them in the oven for some period of time.  They reported that they had a crunch and similar flavor to that of "Corn Nuts" the snack item that is made from hominy corn (seen in the image).

Well, that sounded interesting to me.  I like "Corn Nuts", but as you also may know, I tend to not want to eat a lot of higher fat things, and I do not like cooking/bakinig with oils or fats because I dislike the smell of hot oil.  So, I kept thinking that I should try to make these roasted chickpeas.... but do so without oil.

Well finally I did so this past weekend.  I made two batches.   One simply with salt, and the other I covered in a mixture of spice.... a little salt, and then pepper, curry, and a bit of rosemary.  For my experiment, I used canned chickpeas this time and simply drained and washed them.  I then let them dry for about 1/2 hour.   I then coated them with the respective seasoning(s) and baked them on a cookie sheet for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees F (200 C).

After I let them cool, I put them in bags and have been snacking on them ever since.  They ARE very crunchy and good!  My wife likes them too, although she is more fond of just the simple salted ones (she is not as big a spice fan as me).

I will definitely be making these again.  And they are also fat free!

PipeTobacco  

Making of Gifts

Even though I cannot YET mention WHAT I am making, I wanted to write about something I have been working through as much as I can for about six weeks or so now.  As the time draws closer to when I (hopefully) will be finished, I will talk more about the specifics of what I have made, so (hopefully) that will occur in the middle of December.

I have had in the back of my mind the idea to make these things for four different, important females in my life:

1.  my wife
2. & 3. my two sisters
4. my mother-in-law

What I am trying to make are hand crafted gifts by me, that I believe each of the above four women will find beautiful and appreciate. 

I enjoy making things with my own hands, but I do not often make or find time to do so.  But, with the idea that these items will be gifts for these four people has helped me to push, shuffle, and squeeze time in to do this work.   I am hoping I keep squeezing in enough time so that I can get all four finished by at least 20th of December at the very latest. 

I am estimating that each gift takes me about 8-10 hours of in hand work to complete.  And, besides the actual hands-on work.... as with damn near anything I do, it takes a lot of "thinking" and "contemplating" time from me as well as I work through how and with what materials I will use to make these items. 

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Caramel Apple

It is the right time of the year.   And, I have a significant fondness for them this particular year as well.  I have been eating one caramel apple nearly every day for the last month.   I never seem to grow tired of them.  We have made a batch a few weeks ago, and of course home made ARE the best kind... but before and after eating as many of the home made batch that I could (my wife ate some), I have been supplementing with the simple, store bought varieties that are widely available this time of year.

Soon they will no longer be available in the store, and I will likely not have any after the end of this month until next year.... but right now... a daily caramel apple..... Mmmmmm.   It hits just the right snack note this time of year.  I suspect I will have consumed about 40 - 45 caramel apples this season.  :)  Only ONE per day, I assure you.  :)  It sometimes is a little bit messy in my mustache and beard..... BUT.... they are worth it.

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21 Months

I have now completed 21 total months without indulging in my beloved briar pipes.  It has been a journey.

I have not indulged in a pipe's inviting bowl holding a gentle, smoky ember of combusting burley leaves.  I have not been able to expose the neurons of my mind to the gentle, relaxing massage provided by the leaf's nicotinic properties.  Nor have I had the pleasure to taste the earthy, hearty aromatics of the leaf upon my tongue.  My hands miss the warm feelings from holding the warm, wooden bowl on cold mornings.  My rituals, my patterns in life have all had to be revised to some degree.  My sport coats, and my suit jackets, and ties all have lost their pipe tobacco essences.   My old truck, my steed on most of my solo travels.... instead of smelling "homey" and "pipey" now only has an aseptic air.

I do miss my pipes.  I do miss all that I mention in the above.

What have I gained?  On that score, it is more nebulous:

1.  Potential gains in health.  I hope my lack of indulging will have a positive effect on my health, wellness, and longevity.  But whether that comes to fruition is only determinable in hindsight, and now, at best is not a known outcome, but instead only a hoped for outcome that may be true.

2.  Being able to "better fit" in the world of 2019.  The antagonism of our society grows on so many fronts, be they political, spiritual, psychological, or socioeconomic.  This even impacts daily life in the "choices" people make day-to-day in personal behaviors.  Some militant vegans despise omivores.  Tea-totalers sometimes despise a person who drinks a few beers.  In the modern world, people who indulge in tobacco are currently seen as pariahs and rejected by many.  It is just an unfortunate fact of this current age.  To tilt against these societal windmills in a Don Quixote fashion is something I did in various ways for a lot of years.  In some ways, my Don Quiote resolve in regards to pipes has grown too weak compared to the increasing society pressure.  Therefore, now I "fit in" I guess. At least for today.  Who knows about my choice tomorrow?  My father’s 96th birthday approaches soon.  I am still unsure of my plans for that day.

PipeTobacco

  

Fragile Eggshells

I was talking in my physiology course yesterday about the development of the human fetus, when I started to describe several different reasons for how women are significantly more susceptible compared with men on developing osteoporosis.   One of the myriad of reasons that I described was related to an association of the number of children a women gives birth to during her reproductive lifespan.  The more children a women has (especially if she consumes a calcium modest diet), the greater her chance of having osteoporosis later in life.  I went on to further explain that physiologically, there are biochemical mechanisms that occur during pregnancy that will if needed, leach out calcium from the woman's own skeletal system to ossify and strengthen the skeletal system of the fetus.

I went on to further describe that this is similar to a process seen in birds.  The chicken egg, for instance..... when the developing chick grows within the egg, it will form vascular fields near the egg shell specifically to acquire oxygen from the external environment through diffusion through the shell..... but the vascularization will also allow the developing chick to absorb calcium from the shell to use in the creation of its own bones in its skeletal system.  I mentioned then how late in the incubation period for the chicken egg, the shell is structurally much weaker and more fragile. 

I talk about this calcium relationship every semester.  But, it seemed especially interesting to students in my class this semester, and we spent a good additional 15 minutes discussing their questions, thoughts, and ideas about both chickens and about the disease of osteoporosis.   It was interesting to hear their opinions and their ideas, and even their misconceptions on some of these ideas. 

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Maverick on Cannon

With my wife being out for the part of the evening last night, I indulged in one of my current favorite "old" television shows.   I have set up our DVR to record the wonderful show, "Cannon" which is playing daily on MeTV.  It is a great show that stars the late, great William Conrad.

As usual, the show and its story did not disappoint.  The theme music is wonderful in a trumpety early 1970's jazzy style.  The guest stars are often well known faces today that were much younger renderings of themselves as they were just starting out.  And the style, pacing, and cinematography of the 70s era detective dramas has such a wonderful, beautifully reminiscent pacing compared to today's shows.

But, besides all of the above truly wonderful attributes..... there was still more for me!  One feature I love about watching older shows is seeing a whole array of bygone era vehicles that I love and miss from back in the day.   The vehicle that stuck my fancy last night was the Ford Maverick.   I have not seen one in ages nor thought of one.  I forgot how "interesting" in a "70's cool-vibe" sort of way they were!  Yes, I know they were of modest quality at best, yes they had the same sorts of exploding gas tank issues as the Pinto, and all the other challenges they had as well.

But.... seeing one on tv.   One that was new, and beautiful, and shinny.   It was fun.  It brought back a lot of good memories.   I would love to find one and take a drive in in for an hour or so.  The tactile sensations, the sounds, the smells.... would be able to elicit great memories.

PipeTobacco

Apologies, But Explanation

Hmm.

I want to apologize to my friendly readers here about one point, and yet I also want to offer an explanation as to why it occurs (more frequently than I would like):

I do want to offer my apologies about the relatively frequent typographical errors, the occasionally garbled phrases, and occasional grammatical errors.  Of course, none of these are intentional.   I apologize if they make your reading here less enjoyable.

But, as a manner of explanation, I want you to know that my writings here reflect me, my thoughts, and my feelings, and my ideas.... in as spontaneous and unfettered a way as I can manage.  I view my blog as my space to "be me" in and a *part* of that being me, is NOT having a need to edit, compose, recompose, re-edit what it is that I want to try to say.

I tend to write a great deal as one facet of my role as a professor, and in that job related writing, I *do* spend considerable time and effort in terms of editing, cleaning, clarifying virtually every sentence and word I write.  It is a necessary part of science writing.  But.... it is not particularly "fun" and is very often tedious.

I need my blog to be a place where I can expel and express feelings, passions, ideas, thoughts, worries, etc. without feeling the need to make them "perfect" and precise.  I hope that this seems reasonable to you and that you take my writing foibles with a "grain of salt" and give me a pass on them.  If they do become too troublesome, please let me know, and I will try to dovote a bit of time to "smoothing" them out a bit.

Sincerely,

PipeTobacco

Watch

While monitoring one of my exams yesterday, I decided to count how many of my male students wore a wrist watch.  Women have traditionally been more "sporadic" and watch wearing would take on many different forms (pendants and necklaces, although not common, occasionally occur) about wearing a watch, so I decided to just focus on the males this time.

I did this just out of curiosity because I know that wearing a watch has been in decline for young folks ever since the damn "smart" phone was developed. 

In my informal count, With a class size of 135, in which 89 were female, this meant that I had 46 males to try to check.

In that sample, there were 2 absences.

Of the 44 I was able to observe.... I missed getting data on 5 of them due to answer other student's questions.  So, my sample size was 39.

Of those 39 male students, only 12 wore a watch.  And, of those 12, a full 7 of them were wearing "tracker" watches of one sort or another that paired to their phone.  This means that in my examination, only a little over 12% of the population studied wore a TRADITIONAL wrist watch any longer. 

I must say that I knew the number would be low..... but I am surprised at HOW LOW this rate is.

I personally feel "naked" without a wrist watch.  I remember when I was 11 how I scrimped and saved any money I could so that I could scrape up enough to eventually by my first watch.... a cheap,, but wonderful, silver colored Timex hand wind watch. I felt truly "grown up" wearing it and would take it off only to wind it, shower, or swim.

If I recall correctly, I think it cost about $8.00.  I wore it all through high school before I accidentally hit the bezel and it shattered.  Mine looked something like the one I have pictured, except the face was white.  Perhaps that one was too "back in the day"?  Mine was likely even lower priced as my numbers were actually painted or stamped on, not metal like in the photo.

PipeTobacco

To Be a Better, Kinder, Person

Even though I admit that pipes are very much on my mind at the moment.  I can also say, I have been having thoughts again about trying to find ways for me to be a better, kinder, person and a harder worker in terms of this life I have been given.  I feel I *do* try, but I think I could and should try harder, and with greater effort to become a better version of myself... for my family, for my friends, for my U, and for my community. 

It is a tenet of my Roman Catholic faith to assess your inner heart and spirit and recognize failings you may have in how you treat others, how you work to be a better person, how you work to help others, and how you work to try to make a difference in other's lives. 

Sadly, I admit that sometimes I shy away from thinking about what I could and should do in this regard.  And, perhaps "sometimes" is an understatement.  I realize that I can very easily be lazy and very often ignore additional opportunities I have, to try to be helpful or kind.

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Empty, But...

I have not really done this for at least 7-8 months now, but last Sunday I did dig out on of my favorite old pipes, and have been carrying it with me in my pocket and have been gripping the stem in between my teeth when I am driving.  The bowl is EMPTY and devoid of gentle crumbles of pipe tobacco. But, it is for some reason, a bit comforting to me.  Strange, perhaps. 

It appears to be akin to a pacifier for me.  Hmm. I guess that makes some sense. 

PipeTobacco

Running Outside Again.... At Least for a While

Yesterday and today, the weather was enough above freezing (yesterday it was 40 degrees (4,4 C) and this morning it was 37 degrees (2.7 C) so I felt safe running outside without worry about icy patches. Yesterday was filled with heavy rain and wind, but today it was nicer... no rain, and only a modest wind.

I am glad I get a few more outside days before I end up having to always run on the indoor track (that is virtually all January and February at least).

PipeTobacco

Hmm. Maybe November is Why?

My mind is a swirl with thoughts about pipes these days.  I have been a bit surprised about that.  I do not mean surprise in that I think about them.... that may be an "always" thing for me, I guess.  But, I am surprised about the ebb and flow of my thoughts.  For a while, especially during the latter part of the Summer, the thoughts about pipes and pipe tobaccos were more sporadic, occasional, and there were even once in a while, whole days where I did not think of them.

But now, since late October and into November, I seem to have a much more robust number of thoughts, daily, about pipes and pipe tobacco and the desire to rejoin the hobby.  After giving it considerable thought, I believe this time of year may especially foster these thoughts in me because of my former ritual of attending deer camp with my elderly father in law each hunting season, and also because my own father's birthday is this month and I have had a ritual for decades to visit my father's gravesite on his birthday and to smoke one of his or one of my grandfather's pipes as I sat at the gravesite and talked with my father.  I think the above two actions/activities have carried a great deal of "gravitas" in me and my mind keeps reminding me of these rituals/events/and times of the year.

I often wonder if I *can* and/or if I *should* perhaps indulge in a pipe on my Father's Birthday?  A sizeable part of my mind says..... YES, indeed, you should do that!  It is appropriate.  It is a remembrance.  It is a way to recall him and the many ways that I love, cherish, and remember him.

If I did do this.... I believe it should be a one-time event (at least perhaps only yearly on the date of his birthday).  But, is my resolve strong enough to adhere to this idea of a one time event?  Or would the beautiful indulgence reawaken my passions for pipes and pipe tobaccos so that it is impossible to resist returning to the hobby?  Is it good to test my mettle in this way to show my resolve?  Or is it simply a slippery slope I should avoid?

I believe for the moment, since I have a bit of time before his birthday, I will just try to keep reasoning through in my mind the various ideas before committing to a decision. At this birthday, my father would be 96 years old, if he were still living.

PipeTobacco

This And That (Variety)

I am going to attempt a speed post today, because of a variety of work circumstances.  I have given myself 10 minutes to type "free-flow" style my thoughts and ideas, and then I am back at work.   So here goes:

Running... last night we had our first appreciable snowfall (~2 inches (~5 cm)).  Because of the harsh wind and also prior rain, this meant that the trail would be too damn icy for me to run outside because I am a klutz and would probably have broken a bone or two.  So, I had to make my first trip of the season to the indoor track this morning.   Luckily, they do open their doors at 5:45am, so I was there and ready to go.  I did my 5 miles (50 laps).  On the good side, I was able to run in shorts and a t-shirt which is more "free feeling" to run compared to the sweat pants and sweat shirt and stocking hat I use outside at this time of the year.  On the less than good side, it is much more enjoyable to be OUTSIDE.  But, I am very fortunate to have this indoor track option when the weather is dangerous due to my klutzy nature. 

*   *   *   *   *

It may be the weather or the season.... but it may just be my psyche.... but I am in a frame of mind the last week or two where the beautiful call of my pipes seems especially strong and delightful.   Whenever I let my mind wander during the last couple of weeks, it is almost inevitable, that I find my mind replaying and reliving the delight of that wonderful, pleasant hobby.   I do miss the friendly, indulgent joys of pipe tobacco and pipe smoking.   

*   *   *   *   *

Even though I will vote for whichever Democrat is nominated for President in 2020, I am so hopeful that Elizabeth Warren and/or Bernie Sanders are the nominees (and that they win the election).  It is, IMO, so important that we move into a national health care system.  I think what we currently have is one of the most discriminatory, biased, and problematic aspects of US societal structure. 

Ok... my time is up.... I have to get back to work.

PipeTobacco