Halloween

With Halloween occurring tomorrow (Saturday), I did carve our pumpkin for our porch and have a candle ready for its innards.  Depending upon my wife's plans for us tomorrow, we will either be home to distribute candy, or we will have an old chair with a big bowl of candy out on the porch, with a sign requesting revelers to take only one or two pieces so everyone will be able to get some candy.  

Interestingly, with the SOARING prices of actual chocolate currently.... due to some sort of cocoa shortage..... the candy favorites we like to give have been in short supply (difficult to find)..... OR other favorites have been REFORMULATED into a version that does not taste as good as it should.  So, my wife made the executive decision to have our treat, this year, be packages of "gummie bears" instead of the usual.  I have to admit that I do like "gummie bears" so that is fine by me.... I will gladly eat any remnants if there are any.  

But, by far, my FAVORITE candy of the Halloween season are HANDS DOWN.....

Brachs Mellocreme Pumpkins

Yes, I know... they are basically the same as Candy Corn (which I also like), but they are about the size of what would be perhaps 3-4 candy corn.... and they are typically softer.... and a bit creamier than are individual candy corn.  

Long ago, they used to have small bags of candy corn (often with a mellocreme pumpkin or two in each bag as well) to distribute to the kids.  But, we have not seen any of those in well over 20 years.  Otherwise.... if they were still around..... THOSE would by my preference to give out to the kids!

Apparently, though, candy corn (nor Mellocreme Pumpkins) are NOT favorites of hardly ANYONE these days.  I have read (far too many than warranted, IMO) comments from folks online who seemingly DESPISE these delicious little candies. I think there may even be an "Anti-Candy Corn" online group or club that I stumbled across one time.  

But, very kindly, my loving wife bought me TWO larger sized bags of MellowCreme Pumpkins that I may dole out to myself for the next several weeks.  

* * * * *

• Running was again pleasant....  after the first mile or so!  :)   
• The Retiree's Cigar Group was so beautifully relaxing and fun!  Most all of the group was there, and it was a time filled with a lot of joking, laughter, and relaxing times!  And, I reverted back and had a 6x60 Cohiba Red Maduro which is a pleasant cigar I have always had good luck with as well.  
• PCS is still ~9.0.  Not sure if that is going to change anytime soon.
• It feels so STRANGE that we are 2/3rds through the semester already!

PipeTobacco

Of Mice and Mazes

 

One of the toys I had received as a very young kid, was the classic labyrinth maze toy like shown above.  If you are not familiar with this toy, it is a maze-shaped board, that is controllable (in terms of tilting left and right, and front-to-back) by the two side knobs shown.  The goal was to navigate a steel marble through the maze from start to finish without falling into any of the holes.  

I remember receiving my labyrinth maze toy at Christmas when I was four years old.  And, even though for my four-year-old self, it was rather beyond my patience and dexterity to succeed at.... I always liked the toy.   It sat in my toy box or on a shelf in my bedroom for quite a while, not played particularly often.  But that changed when I was eleven or twelve, and I "refound" a strong interest in the toy and worked and practiced on it quite frequently until I was rather adept at navigating all the channels successfully.  I really liked the DESIGN of the toy and the DESIGN of the maze on the table of this toy.... and it sort of "imprinted" in my mind.

Advance a couple of years and I was just starting my first year in high school.  My best friend and I... 

(I have sometime in the past written about this friend of mine... we were wholly ensconced in (unfortunately in our minds) the "nerdy, unpopular" group of kids in our school.  He was my friend who I would regularly go seining to catch baby fish (bluegill, pike, darters, catfish, etc) in local streams and ditches to put into aquaira so we could watch and observe them... they were usually about 1 - 1.5 inches long.) 

... were very excited that a science teacher at our high school had decided to have that year, the district's first "Science Fair" it ever held.  We both schemed and discussed what we could DO for our projects for a long time.  He ultimately decided to create a study looking at fish feeding behavior and learning.  I really wanted to really do something with mice.  Eventually, on one of the weekends my parents took me to the public library, I stumbled across a book about mazes and checked it out.  In that book, I learned that the classic labyrinth maze toy was a classic maze shape and was referred to as a "Lasher Maze" based upon a researcher who used this style of maze in testing.   I then had my idea.

I asked my Dad if he thought we might be able to BUILD a "Lasher Maze" for me to use with mice.  He was game to try, and over the course of a weekend and a trip to the lumber yard, he and I worked with his electric and manual hand tools try to build a mouse-appropriate sized version of the maze of my toy.  It was a fun time, and remember fondly working with him as we carefully worked to measure and remeasure our boards to create this maze.  During this work, as with most things, my Dad always had his pipe gripped in his mouth.  By that time, I had already been sporadically "borrowing" and sampling his pipe tobacco myself.... but it was prior to his knowing that I was doing so.... so while I would have ALSO liked to have had a pipe while we worked, it WAS only a pipe dream of mine at the time.  

When we completed the maze, it was actually rather beautiful and was very nicely done!  We painted it with a can of orange spray paint (I already really liked orange by that time), and then cut out of hardware cloth, a cover to place over the maze so the rodents would not climb walls or escape during testing.  

Over the next several weeks my friend and I both worked feverishly on our projects... and we helped each other out in both projects, collecting our data and in writing our science project reports.  We even very carefully followed the tenets of the scientific method we had found in one of our textbooks in science class as we organized and wrote out our projects.  

We and other kids from all the various high school grades eventually submitted their projects for consideration.  There were prizes for each grade level, and an overall winner prize as well.... which was a small trophy.  

On the day of the awards, prizes were first given to each grade-level winner.  My friend and I were greatly disappointed when our grade winner was NOT one of us, but was another kid who had written a report about something to do with how batteries produce electricity.  

Although we were VERY disappointed,  we continued (of course) to stay in the auditorium for the rest of the event..... (I have to admit, though, my friend and I were not paying particularly close attention at that point, and instead were playing various pencil and paper games with each other in one of our notebooks..... "hangman" and "dots and boxes" and "battleship" are the games I remember us doing.)... and eventually it was approaching the end of the event... and they were going to announce the overall winner.

Both my friend and I were presuming it would be a 12th grader who won, and we anticipated it being either this really rather annoying guy in 12th grade who was a rather mean, "teacher's pet" kid for the 12th grade Physics teacher, or this equally rather mean girl who was very snooty to both of us... she did some sort of chemistry report and was also in 12th grade.  

The principal went up to the podium to announce the overall winner..... 

... and he began by talking for a while about all the strong science projects and all the general "political platitudes" about how science is important and on and on.... 

... then he said, that it was very difficult to chose ONE winner, so they had decided to award TWO first place winners for the Science Fair.... 

... and he then read off both MY NAME and MY FRIEND's NAME!!!!!   We were both shocked and amazed!!!!!  It was beyond our imaginations that either of us would have won.... and even more that BOTH of us won.  

Regrettably, there were no additional science fairs that occurred during out time in high school.  The young teacher who had organized this one, was unfortunately pink-slipped (laid off) because of budget cuts in our district... he ended up being one of I think it was 6 teachers that had to be laid off that year due to these budget cuts.  

I still have that maze my Dad and I built.  I actually have some of my rodent researchers use it to run juvenile rats in, as they are similar in size to mice.

*****

• Running was pleasant this morning, even though cold.  It helped me to clear my mind.
• I am aiming to head to the Retiree's Cigar Group this afternoon.  I will be avoiding that dull as dust type of cigar the fellow convinced me to try last week.
• Fortunately, my wife and I have NO scheduled agenda items tonight, and so I can be luxuriously sanguine (I hope) at the Retiree's Cigar Group... and just have fun.  And, my wife and I can leisurely swim afterwards.  
• My wife has a late afternoon on-line meeting with her "Veggie Peeps".... these are a cadre of on-line friends she has that all met when they all were trying to adopt a wholly plant based diet for health.  Even though I would be wholly fine eating a completely plant-based diet.... and there is pretty strong evidence that type of extremely vegan, very low fat diet can be very helpful for reducing risks of heart disease, diabetes, and inflammatory responses in the body.... after trying it for about a month.... my wife and her friends basically gave up on it.  However, they remained friends and meet regularly online.  I actually enjoyed the choices we had during the month she adopted this diet... and would readily go back again if she is ever of  a mind to do so.  

PipeTobacco 

Fitness Age?

This last Monday evening, while at rehearsal (we are now starting rehearsals again after having our Fall Concert Season performances of the last four weeks) there was a lot of chatter, especially while passing out our various new Christmas Holiday sheet music pieces.  One discussion I heard parts of was between a couple of trumpet players discussing their "Fitness Age" which is apparently some sort of calculated value of their athletic age based upon exercise, lifestyle, chronological age, and other factors that is determined by their "gizmo" athletic watch.  I was mildly curious as at least one of these fellows, I know for certain, has a Garmin "gizmo" watch.  

My own, hand-me-down "gizmo" watch that I inherited from my son, long ago, when he proclaimed that it was far "too old and outdated" for his needs.... is also Garmin.  It is the Garmin "Forerunner 235" (I just checked the name of my watch again on the "gizmo" app(lication) on my phone, since I never remember it.).  Hearing the trumpetists talk about this measure had me curious if perhaps my own "gizmo" watch would calculate something similar for old, grey, furry-faced me.... with the hoped for idea that because I actually run.... perhaps seeing a potentially good fitness age for my tired body.... might boost my self esteem and resolve to keep plugging away as I have been.  

I could see that the one Garmin wearing fellow's watch was seemingly much newer (MORE "gizmoey") and more luxurious than my own.... so I doubted he would be able to help me much with my watch, which by today's "standards" would likely be referred to as an "ancient alien" relic of some sort.  So, I did spend a little bit of time trying to figure out myself if my watch has this feature or not.  

Apparently my watch is from the model year of 2015 (Oh, the HORRORS... it is so, so useless, old, and decrepit! (sarcasm).... No wonder there have been probably 10-15 additional "new and improved" models since.... I am now actually surprised my watch does not run on coal, instead of a battery. (sarcasm again)).  In theory, from what I have read on-line, it SHOULD have the capability to discern a "Fitness Age".  But, I followed (attempted to) three slightly different sets of instructions.... none of which revealed this measure.  

So, at this time I am stymied.  Perhaps some day I will take another stab at it.  One measure I have been observing regularly for quite a spell though has been my heart rate.  Most mornings when I first wake up, I glance at what my supposed "resting" heart rate was while I was sleeping.  It has been averaging typically between 45-50 beats per minute. During my runs, on an average day, I sit at somewhere between 120-130.  But, this range while running sometimes makes me feel like a "slacker" of sorts because the "gizmo" watch also tells me graphically that I am only "maintaining" my fitness when I run in that range.  The next level up is called "improving" fitness and indicates gains in aerobic ability.  So, I will on some days, try to PUSH my pace to be more strenuous.... which can be hard to do.  Running at the fastest pace I can muster will typically push my heart rate into the 150s... at least for a period of time.  But running full force also makes me considerably more nervous about tripping/falling.... because it is harder to be as fully aware of the pavement around me when I am attempting to go "full force".  I know that on at least TWO of my trips/falls, they did occur when I was trying to get an "improving" score for that day's run..... and I was running at "full force".  

Another interesting/strange thing I have done is to, a couple of times, watch my heart rate while at the Retiree's Cigar Group.  On the three times I have done this, I did get consistently the same results.  When I got to the shop, I would first go and purchase my cigar, and then go sit down.  I would wait about five minutes (NOT having lit the cigar).... and then glance (surreptitiously, so as not to be questioned about what "weird thing" I was doing) at my heart rate.... it would sit somewhere in the 45-50 bpm range.   Then I would ignite the cigar, and indulge and chat with my friends.  At about the 1/3 of the way through mark..... I would again (surreptitiously) glance at my heart rate on my "gizmo" watch.  The first time I tried this, I was anticipating that the nicotine from the cigar would likely have my heart rate shoot up considerably.  But, I was rather surprised that first time..... and it was exactly the same the two other occasions I checked.... that my heart rate still was parked in the 45 - 50 bpm range..... while indulging in a cigar.  That LACK of any significant change shocked me.  

* * * * *

• Running the last couple of days has generally been good.  But, I admit that for the first 1 - 1.5 miles of my run (~the first 2 km) most days this time of year... it does NOT feel particularly fun, nor enjoyable.  At first, I tend to feel a great deal of stiffness, and I tend to feel rather cold (I am still outside), and the darkness seems to envelop and also permeate my mood (even with the headlamp).  Usually after I warm up some, I feel better and it is more enjoyable.... but at this time of year it CAN feel a bit of a chore initially.... and I need some "mental" support that I had hoped my "fitness age" might provide.
• I STILL need a new pair of running shoes.  I have (even in my miserly mindset) gone WAY TOO LONG between pairs of shoes.  I roughly estimate this pair has stomped its way through ~ 3,500 miles (~5,500 km) of running.  "Expert runners" suggest a new pair is warranted every 500 miles (~800 km) but that is just marketing b*llsh*t IMO.  I do, however TRY to buy a new pair every 1,500 miles (~2,500km).   So, I am WAY overdue.  But, I am having great difficulty finding a shoe I like, as my prior model was CHANGED in its new version into a form I think is bad/dangerous for my running (I should explain more, perhaps in a future post.).  So, I have been looking for a shoe with similar properties of my current pair.
• My PCS still is very high.  Probably a "9" today (down from a "9+" at least.  Maybe it is a Fall thing?  I am not sure.  But, I do feel such a strong, yearning desire for them.  I keep trying to coax myself into being patient... by reminding myself I have PLANS (that I still need to work through) to actually have a pipe on my Dad's birthday in about a month or so.
• I am hoping my wife and I may eat at the U Cafeteria we sometimes have dinner at.  The last time was wonderful, and I hope it is what we will do this evening.

PipeTobacco

More Retirement Musings

My mind routinely alternates back-and-forth concerning retirement thoughts.  I feel akin to being like an alternating current line, just undulating briefly one way and then another.  

Pros to retiring soon (within a year or two):

• having complete flexibility over my schedule (at least OTHER than how my wife may want to shape it)
• not having to deal with those folks who are annoying... at the U
• not having to "big voice lecture" every single day of the workweek
• having the POTENTIAL to do other things more easily... such as music playing, music writing, novel writing, trips, other hobbies
• having greater POTENTIAL to do meaningful volunteer actitivies.... working with the Catholic Diocesan Office in some capacity, working at the Soup Kitchen more routinely, etc
• having the potential to find a "part-time, hobby" job.... perhaps working part time at a hardware store (big box like Lowes, Home Depot, etc.... or locally owned), perhaps having a part-time gig at a pipe/tobacco shop, perhaps having a part-time gig at a music store
• potentially being able to adopt a "snow-bird" lifestyle..... 1/2 the year (Summer/Fall) up North, 1/2 the year (Winter/Spring) down South

Cons to retiring soon:

• missing teaching in the classroom
• missing interaction with the students
• missing working with my rodents, flies and nematodes
• missing some really nice people at the U
• financial ambiguities..... not necessarily "worries" since in THEORY we are "safe", but more like.... having to figure out a whole new mindset towards looking at income, spending, etc.... my mind is still so fixed on the notion of "work hard as hell, spend as little as possible, save as much as possible".... but living on a retirement income is SO VASTLY different than the mindset that navigated my adult life.... it seems like it needs to be a whole philosophical/emotional  change... and seems scary in many ways
• missing my routine
• potential "loss of purpose" in life... who will I be, who will I become.  How will it be to no longer be a professor or a researcher.... do I have the energy, the fortitude, the stamina to become something else?  Or will I whither away into complete meaninglessness?  

Fun?

• in theory... life..... and life in retirement.... is meant to be fun and enjoyable.  It may sound melodramatic and hyperbolic to some degree..... but I am not sure if I know any longer.... how to have or feel "fun".  
• I do know how to "fill time" and some of that is work, some of it is not work.  And, some of it is "enjoyable".... there is no doubt about that.  But, is it "fun"?  I am not sure.
• It seems when I was younger, life was FILLED with "fun".  But, that feels and seems elusive to me now.  I am not sure I know how to find that again. 

So, I am trying to determine what are the "real and legitimate" thoughts and feelings that I SHOULD focus on, versus those thoughts and feelings that may, in the greater scheme of things be of lower or less importance.  

It is strangely HARDER than I thought it would be to figure out.   I think (very unrealistically I now realize) I had THOUGHT it would be a process akin to a "light switch" in that there would just come a point and either a) I would die before I could retire, or b) a switch would toggle, and I would immediately know to retire and have my whole gameplan.

I was more naive about this than I thought.  And, it is more frightening than I anticipated.  If I were to retire.... my old life seems "done"..... and yet, whatever my new life may be is undefined, unclear, and uncertain.  Those "un" words are damn scary.

• I ran this morning.  It was important for me to do so, as I had dreams (er, more truthfully nightmares) where I relived all the sh*t about the kid I do not talk about any longer.  I woke up very angry and frustrated.  I awoke, wanting to hide from the day and just lay in bed.  
• But, I pounded out the miles to dissipate my anger and my hurt.  It is, of course, not gone.... but it is "farther away" than it was when I awoke.
• Now I will just work through the day as best as I can

PipeTobacco

PBS & NPR

I have been long familiar with Public Television, nearly since its inception, and even remember first finding our local channel as a kid, by messing around on my parent’s television, scanning the UHF knob (sometimes to the disgruntlement of my Dad, who liked the UHF band to be left alone so the one other channel we had in that band (CBS) would be clear and easier to watch).    Early, on-air broadcasts of our first regional Public Television channel occurred in the late 1960s.   I remember well a few of the VERY early programs our station broadcast….one of course was VERY EARLY Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, and Washington Week.  But I also recall very fondly a program that suddenly appeared in the early 1970s that I was rather transfixed by called “Lillias, Yoga and You” that would typically air relatively shortly after getting home from school. I remember having somewhat of a crush on Lillias as a kid.   I also VERY FONDLY remember when our PBS channel aired the complete series of “The Prisoner” which was a sort of “cult-classic” science-fiction show which completely captivated my young mind.  But, perhaps the MOST significant program, that I think SHAPED me more than any other was one that first started to air in the early-to-mid 1970s….. which was NOVA.  NOVA was a monumentally important window for me into ACTUAL SCIENCE.  Every episode captivated me from start-to-finish, and I believe it was instrumental in terms of spawning my interest in science, as there were really no science-focused folks in my family, and truth-be-told, the science teachers I was exposed to were basically “plug-and-chug” folks who would generally throw mimeographed worksheets at us to just fill in answers from a textbook during class….nothing overly inspirational.  But, watching NOVA helped me to see and begin to understand the creativity, the “detective-like” dogged determination behind the practice of science and the discovery of new knowledge.   

Do any of you remember “Lillas, Yoga & You” or “The Prisoner” or early “Nova”?  

I have now been also a long-time supporter and fan of National Public Radio.  Even though PBS and Public Television was what I found first, I have now listened to National Public Radio for close to 50 years, after having stumbled across it for the first time in my first vehicle that had an FM radio.  Rolling the dial on the car’s radio, I stumbled across NPR way low on the dial after working through all the Top 40 music channels and the unpleasant (to me) twangy country channels.  I enjoyed the Top 40 channels and also our region’s “Soul Train”-esque channel a lot….. but it was NPR that captured most of my attention and the first button on the radio was permanently set to that NPR channel.   

NPR became my gateway to a wider social and political world in those early years.  Eventually, when I started Graduate School, the University I was at had not just ONE NPR radio station….but TWO stations….one for what was familiar to me already….news, social and political commentary…..but the SECOND ONE played for virtually all of its 24-hour day….a mix of 12 hours of classical music and 12 hours of jazz music!  

I had always LIKED classical music, after first encountering it in band music in elementary school, and would occasionally check out classical music LP records from our public library when my parents would take me to get books there once ~ every other week.  I also checked out of the library other records as well, including music from India (my first foray into hearing the sitar, which I love), Gregorian Chants, and Jazz.  

But, it really wasn’t until I encountered that classical/jazz channel in Graduate School, that I fully IMMERSED myself in those two genres.  That radio channel helped me to learn SO MUCH about both classical music and jazz, that I am forever grateful.  

Now-a-days….I still greatly enjoy PBS, but I would easily say that currently National Public Radio remains at the top of my media consumption.  This is in part due to the INTERNET, and the options I now have to listen far more widely to MANY DIFFERENT NPR channels across the country…. via Internet streams.  I listen to a variety of of steams across the land, from Alaska, into Montana, through the Midwest with tons of channels in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and other areas in and around the Great Lakes.  I also have a few New York and Maine stations in my queue.  

PBS and NPR have been and continue to be wonderful "teachers" and resources for me throughout my life.  

PipeTobacco

This and this...

Just thoughts:

• Yesterday began with a bit of chaos due to my ineptitude and foolishness.  I did all of my morning tasks.... running, putting away dishes from the dishwasher, preparing my coffee to take with me, etc.  I then cleaned up myself, dressed, and headed to the U as per normal.  I was a bit preoccupied in thinking about my teaching lab yesterday morning.... in embryology.  There was a situation where my chicken eggs had arrived, but had been improperly stored by the student worker who received packages earlier in the week.  The viability of the eggs was therefore in question, but I had decided to see what, if anything could be salvaged and put the eggs in the incubator at the appropriate time earlier this week.  But, I was predicting the lab to ultimately fail due to the improper storage.  So.... I was running through my mind, various ways to try to best educationally cope with the upcoming presumptive failure in lab yesterday morning as I drove to campus.  
• I stopped at a relatively near-to-campus 7-11 to get a pop (soda for those not familiar with "pop" as a colloquialism..... diet Dr. Pepper).  After arriving on campus, I went into the teaching lab, looked at the eggs, organized several things, then I proceeded to the restroom, then I proceeded to my research lab.... and started up my computer, and.... of course with the current state of affairs.... up popped on my screen the array of "mulifactor authentication" requirements that I had to work through before I could gain any access to ANY electronic gizmoey crap on campus.  SO.... I NEEDED MY PHONE, which is the system used by the U to go through the huge array of steps to be able to accomplish this tiresome, lengthy "authentication".  But, I could not find my phone.  
• Thus began the chaos.
• Did I have my phone?  
• Did I leave my phone somewhere?  If so.... where the hell did I leave it? 
• The lack of knowing where the damn phone was.... sent a shiver of panic down my spine.
• Thus began my starting to act like an overly caffeinated squirrel.... as I began to agitatedly search my research lab, then the restroom, then the teaching lab, then my coat, and lunchbox, and then back out to the parking lot to my vehicle, and then back through ALL OF those places again.  
• I even tried to call my wife on my OFFICE PHONE.... to see if she could look for my damn, gizmoey phone on her "Find My Phone" app.  But, unfortunately, she had her phone off due to a meeting she was in so was not reachable.  
• Could I have left my damnable phone at home?  
• I did not have a lot of spare time, and I HAD PLANNED to get a lot of work done prior to class.  But, I COULD NOT DO A DAMN THING WITHOUT "authenticating".  I was between a rock and a hard place.  So, I zipped out of my building, into my vehicle, and drove as rapidly as I could all the way back home..... but on the way back.... I also stopped at the 7-11 as well...... to see if I left it there.  Unfortunately, they had no errant phone.  Hah, even on this hurried drive home, though, I admit, I did daydream a bit about my pipes and pipe tobaccos, so the PCS score is still high!
• But.... once a at home.... I scrambled and searched EVERYWHERE I typically am at at home in the morning, and still could not find the damn thing. 
• I was starting to get frantic.
• Then, I remembered the i-Pad.  My wife had one (but she was not available, see above), but I ALSO had gotten one (free) with the plan my wife selected the last time we had to get our new gizmoey phones.  I remember we also had "Find My Phone" on those things!
• It takes me a bit, but I finally find it...... try to turn it on..... it has no charge (&&^%!!).
• I race to the "charging area" in our kitchen, and plug the i-Pad in.  Time is ticking.  The battery was SO low, that it would not turn on immediately but would show a battery with a red line in it.
• I wait.
• I wait.... what seems like an eternity..... but was probably a little over five minutes.
• It is able to finally be turned on!
• I scroll around in the damn thing to try to find (and remember) what the "Find My Phone" icon looks like.
• I finally figure out which icon is the right one, open it, and search around...... my phone IS in the house!!!!  Finally some progress!!!!!!
• I go racing around EVERYWHERE I can think of.... the bedroom, the bathroom, the living room.... the kitchen..... my office.... out on the back porch......
• I cannot locate it.
• I go back to the i-Pad to try to "close-up" the image to see if I can figure out more precisely where the phone is.... but the "Find My Phone" does not allow enough granularity to see THAT PRECISELY.
• Ugh!   Where is the damn thing?!?!?
• Messing around more with the "Find My Phone" app on the i-Pad, I must have hit something on the screen, and.... part of the screen now displays a "Play Sound" box..... I never saw that before.
• I tap the button and wait.
• I can hear a weird "twittery" sound seemingly to come from the living room.... which must be coming from my phone!!!!!
• I race into the living room, trying to pinpoint where the noise is coming from..... and eventually.... THERE IS MY PHONE...... I had laid it on the mantle of our fireplace!!!!!
• (I would never TYPICALLY put my phone there, nor anywhere near the fireplace, truth-be-told.  But, for whatever reason.... I now remembered I sat down by the fireplace.... to retie my shoes in the morning right before leaving... and I must have very stupidly laid down my phone on the mantle when I did so.)
• I raced out the door.... raced back to the U..... and raced into the building..... and had ~3 minutes before my embryology lab actually started.... but at least now.... I could log into the damnable classroom's computer and project images from the projector to help show items of my slides to students in the lab.

I was exhausted.

• After teaching my classes.... and after working with my rodents for a while, I did go to the "Retiree's Cigar Group" across to the neighboring town.  Only about 1/2 of my friends were there... as a cadre of them had said last week that they could not get there this week due to various appointments.  
• At the shop, it was strange, but a younger fellow (probably mid-to-late 30s) was roaming around the shop, watching me as I peered into the various humidors.  I was about to reach into one of the cabinets for a "usual" cigar of a type that is predicable and pleasant, and I have had a few times before, when this younger guy came up to me and started talking.
• It turns out he was a vendor of a new brand of cigars that the shopkeep was going to add to his offerings at the shop.  This fellow was rather earnest and a bit persistent.... and kept working on his spiel to try to convince me to get one of "his brand" of these new cigars to the shop.  
• I was not really feeling in the mood for a sales pitch, but equally I was not in a mood to try to explain that "No, my choice was going to be.... 'X' " instead.  So, ultimately I acquiesced and picked up one of this fellow's new types of cigar.  I then paid, and headed back to the lounge area to talk with my friends.  
• The talk and discussion was wonderful as always.  It was fun, enjoyable and relaxing.... at least to an extent (more later).
• However.... the cigar.... was not to my liking.  I cannot pinpoint any particular "negatives" about it.... but to me, it was wholly "dull", had no interesting flavors or textures, and seemed basically like a bunch of "nothingness", which was rather disappointing.  I actually cannot remember the name of the brand (I believe I kept the ring and put it in the pocket of my shirt yesterday, so I can likely figure it out.) but.... I do not plan to purchase any future offerings of that brand.  It can truly be ranked at the bottom of my rather modest cigar list.
• The reason why the "Retiree's Cigar Group" was fun, enjoyable and relaxing..... TO AN EXTENT... was that I was still "on-the-clock" in terms of my wife having accepted an invitation to our region's "Soup Kitchen Fundraiser" dinner, which happened to be yesterday, early evening.  So.... I had to cut my time at the "Retiree's Cigar Group" short, so I could get home and gussey myself up enough for this "fancy" event.  I had to shower.... to wash away any persisting running, rodent, embryo, and cigar odors from my visage in order to be "fancy" enough to fit in at this fundraiser. 
• The meal was actually really nice.  And, even though I am not fond of "schmoozey-fundraiser events"... nor the length of time they take.... it WAS for a good cause... and being there did help the Soup Kitchen out financially.  I have worked (volunteered) at the Soup Kitchen numerous times.... and it is extremely helpful for folks in our community who are experiencing economic challenges.  

PipeTobacco

Brief Addendum:  Today marks my 144th day in a row of completing Wordle successfully!  I am hoping to reach day 150 and get a 150 Day Badge!    I am happy about this consistency.  I have only been playing Wordle for 151 days total.  

Second Addendum:  Pam J... if you have not done so, please look back on comments from a couple of days ago.  I believe you will find them valuable.

Random PCS Thoughts Today

I have been feeling somewhat in a more pseudo-artistic/literary mood today and not so much a "scientific mood" as perhaps is my norm.  In lecture, I even waxed rather MORE poetically about various physiological functions that is already my norm also.  It was sort of akin to a "Van Gogh" sort of day for me..... with the earless fellow often being somewhat of an inspiration for me philosophically in terms of seeing the world through the eyes of an "artist".... something I wish I had more of inside me. I cannot paint here, except for the following feeble attempt with words: 

There is a quiet, deliberate "magic" to be had in the ritual of packing and smoking a pipe.  It is an art form that requires patience and perseverance.... things that seem almost forgotten in today’s rather frantic, hyper-connected world. For a man of my grey and furry-faced years having witnessed a fair share of Falls and Winters, the pipe is not merely a pastime; instead, it can often be a sanctuary. The process of smoking a pipe begins long before match or lighter is coaxed into ignition. It starts with a tactile pleasure of selecting the right blend.... and yes, this is often by feel..... feeling the ribbons, or cube-cut grains of tobacco between my fingers, and when ultimately a blend is selected..... carefully filling the bowl with a gentle, yet firm level of pressure that is impossible to teach, but instead becomes natural with practice. When well practiced, you innately KNOW.... you tamp it down just so... not too tight nor too loose.  It really does incorporate a gentle, subtle touch that arises through the subconscious, with nary a thought required. 

To me, the slow, methodical packing of the bowl and then smoking the pipe serves me as a meditative preamble that can, if I allow it, help me to briefly step away from the treadmill of modern life and anchor myself firmly in only the present moment. That ability, in many regards is an aspect I miss so tremendously.  Instead of being buffeted by virtually any and every thought or stimulus, the packing of the bowl and then quietly smoking my pipe can truly can hone my mind so readily into..... literal FOCUS.

When the flame finally is nurtured into the leaf, another true reward begins as a rich, velvety plumes of aromatic smoke drift around me. The depths of flavors I experience across the papillae of my tongue, through to the olfactory epithelial cells of my nasal cavity are both vivid and in some facets indescribable with mere words.  And, with my pipe, the flavors and tastes and aromas shifting subtly from the cranial aspect of the bowl and morph and meld into variations all the way through the caudal remnants in the heel. As I watch the thin gray ribbons of smoke twist and dissolve into the air, I feel a profound sense of grounding. In those fragrant clouds, the anxieties of the day seem to lose their grip, and what mentally emerges is a sense of warmth and quelling and quieting of anguish.

Of course, with it being 2026, the briar also serves as a physical bridge to history and is a tangible connection to my own history and the generations of my family who came before me.  Holding onto the bowl of one of my older pipes while indulging...... its warm bowl in the palm of my hand feels akin to shaking hands with an old friend. 

Ultimately, my love for the pipe boils down to a stubborn appreciation of an unhurried life. In a world that demands we do everything quicker, more electronically, and more "gizmoey", my pipe has been at times, a quiet, smoky rebellion of sorts as well.  Not rebelling against FAMILY as may sometimes occur in the young, but rebelling against the modern thought that NOW is now and is all that matters. 

Looking back on the above, I am not sure it would be classified as "artistic"..... but whatever it is, it represents a lot of the thoughts I am having on this second in a row PCS 9+ day.  

* * * *

• Running was at an awfully damn cold 37 degrees F (~2.5 C) this morning.  And, it was purely in the dark, only illuminated by my headlamp (Ha, a TRUE headlamp.... which I attached to the baseball cap I keep on my head when I run.).  I am trying to resist the change to running on the indoor track.  But, the transition to the cold of Winter seems to get harder and harder each season.... and hell, 37 degrees will be considered BALMY in two months when it will likely be -10 to -15 F (-22 to -25 C) some of the time.
• I am hoping my wife will feel up to swimming this afternoon.  With her antibiotic on board, she IS feeling considerably better.... but still she may not feel up to it.  

PipeTobacco