70 Degrees, sunny, with a strong wind. At a supper picnic, on the deck between the Wakefield apartment buildings, we were near the trees and the wind was singing as it blew them every which way. Nice sound! We had that sound all the time in my Gamber home.. how nice it was to sit on the back screened-in porch, drink a little wine and listen to the music of the trees. Now.. my daughter and her husband live there and can enjoy that, and I'm happy for them.
"The man who is forever disturbed about the condition of humanity either has no problems of his own or has refused to face them." Henry Miller
01. Culture comes to Carroll County Maryland
McDaniel College is starting a free Monday evening series of music performances and discussion in an informal setting. Faculty members will perform and answer questions from the audience.
The first evening, the performance will be of selected movements from Duo Mythologique for Flute and Contrabass by Lee R. Kesselman, as well as Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano by Claude Bolling. Dr. Kesselman teaches in the Chicago area and Claude Bolling is a well-known French jazz pianist.
I have never heard of either of these composers and going to tonight's concert would probably be mind-bending, if I went, but I can't, so the composers will just remain crossword puzzle answers to me.
02. The Anthropocene
New York Times: The Anthropocene (The Human Age) is the subject of The Human Age, The World Shaped by Us, by Diane Ackerman. The book talks about evolutionary robotics, urban design, nanotechnology, 3-D printing, and biomimicry.
We are told about amazing things, such as Stockholm's Central Station, where engineers are now harvesting the concentrated body heat from 250,00 daily commuters to warm a 13-story office building.
We are told how we are involved in heading to the planet's sixth extinction, even while we are producing synthetic species of creatures.
We are told that incessant texting prompts a child's brain map of the thumbs to expand.
We are told that some scientists are considering how to reintroduce mammoths to Siberia.
"In the plutocratic milieu of the 21st century, how do we ensure that innovations aren't by the few for the few, that they don't compound the trend toward islands of extreme affluence barricaded against the vulnerable multitudes?"
"At least pause to ponder this: Is it ethical that as the superrich capture ever more resources, the poor, who have contributed least to our planet's undoing, are forced to bear the brunt of the chaotic effects?"
03. Religion .. Life's Purpose
Free Inquiry: Stephen Maitzen asks us to consider what theistic religions offer as God's actual purpose for our lives: glorifying him and enjoying his presence forever. .. "What's so great about that?"
04. *Evil.. Eichmann
New York Times: Bettina Stangneth has written: Eichmann Before Jerusalem.. the Unexamined Life of a Mass Murderer.
See Hannah Arendt's portrait of Eichmann at his 1961 trial. She insisted that he was not a demonic Nazi sadist, but instead, a thoughtless bureaucrat doing his duty and following orders.
Stangneth mentioned that the ex-SS-Obersturmbannfuehrer boasted of his creative work to provide for the mass deportation of more than 400,000 Hungarian Jews, Eichmann was a died-in the wool, unrepentant Nazi.. and was proud of his evil activity. Cleverly, he had fooled Hannah Arendt.. but not Bettina Stangneth.
05. You Fatso!
Brian Wansink, PhD, wrote Mindless Eating in 2006. I have read it a couple of times and want to point out some interesting items:
"Any sign with a number promotion leads us to buy 30 to 100% more than we normally would." (When the sign says 4 for $4, why do I buy 4 instead of the 1 or 2 I came in to buy?
"When we have plenty of food to eat, fat burning speeds up."
"When we have less food to eat, our furnaces slow down."
"Deprivation diets do not work."
Tip: Trim 100 calories per day and lose ten pounds in a year.
Tip: Make your lower calorie food look like higher calorie food.. e.g.: stuff hamburgers with lettuce.
Tip: The "clean plate" notion gives us a target.. so cut in half before eating.
Tip: Ditch short fat glasses and go with tall skinny ones; same with plates.
Book: Obese Humans and Rats by Stanley Schachter and colleagues at Columbia U.
Tip: The more hassle it is to eat, the less we eat.
Tip: Eat with chopsticks.
Tip: Repackage food into smaller containers.
Tip: Always leave some food on your plate.
Tip: Use smaller plates and cups.
Tip: Share dessert.
Tip: Divide entrees and take some home.
Tip: Don't eat bread at restaurants.
Tip: Try a smaller bowl of ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream.
Tip: Ice in drinks burn calories.
WWW.eatright.org .. American Diabetes Association
Campbell's ads were required to be run during 10 am to 1 pm, when it was storming outside.. and the ads would tout Campbell's soups as comfort food in storms.
06. Joke (needs work)
The bartender was having some problems with his arthritis and could not squeeze the lemons for the drinks. One of the patrons, a little scrawny guy said: "Let me try." The scrawny guy hardly touched the lemons and the juice ran out as needed. After the scrawny guy left, the bartender asked if anybody knew who the strong little guy was. One of the customers said that he didn't know his name, but that he worked at the IRS, where they really know how to squeeze the daylights out of all of us.
07. More Diet Tips
Life Line Screening:
Tip: Order your coffee with non fat milk, instead of cream. (Save up to 100 calories)
Tip: Have an English Muffin instead of a bagel. (Save 100 calories.)
Tip: Don't eat potato chips; eat popcorn. (Save 90 calories)
Tip: Get rid of the top piece of bread on your sandwich. (Save 100 calories)
Tip: Use Mustard instead of Mayonaise. (Save 90 calories.)
Tip: Eat snap peas instead of a banana. (Save 100 calories)
08. I'm on the Board
Daily Bread: In England, at Anne Hathaway's Cottage in Stratford upon Avon, a tour guide told his charges:
The kitchen table was made with wide boards. One side was for eating meals and the other for chopping food. In English life, expressions came into being because the word board became associated with food, housing, honesty and authority. An inn would offer "room and board".. eating and sleeping.
In taverns, card players were told to keep their hands "above board" to make sure they were not cheating. In the home, father had a special chair at the head of the table, where he was called "chairman of the board."
09. I thought it was Al Gore
BBC Music: Tim Berners-Lee is supposed to be the inventor of the World Wide Web, which has been a boon to people who like to listen to music. Tracks from recordings can now be disseminated around the world in seconds, and with a computer, the range of recordings available to buy has increased "beyond all imagination." In addition, you can now cherry pick specific parts of operas and musicals, because there is no longer a necessity to download the whole thing.
10. Credible Case of Alien Presence?
Mufon Journal: Warren P. Aston writes: "...a famous medical figure, Doctor Eugene Torralba.. was joined by an energetic young man with very pale skin and blond hair, named Zequiel, who offered to assist the doctor for the rest of his life. 'El Rubio' .. the blonde, taught Torralba the use of herbs and various advanced practices as well as honesty in his dealings. Zequiel taught the doctor advanced theology, how to win at gambling and how to predict future events.
The good doctor's wealth and influence grew over the years. The culmination came with Torralba's 1527 claim, that with Zequiels's help he had traveled from Spain to Rome and back by air in a single morning, carrying important news that only reached Spain more than a week later. Unsurprisingly, this drew the attention of the Spanish Inquisition who charged Torralba with witchcraft; under torture he was unable to deny what had happened. His young assistant of course was no longer to be found"
11. Bzzzzz!
There is a CD with the title Burt's Buzz. It's an intimate look into the world of Burt Shavitz, the co-founder of Burt's Bees. "Wise and wry, ornery and opinionated, the reclusive Shavitz is committed to living off the land and keeping true to his humble beginnings, despite his celebrity status"
Burt is a kind of grouchy looking bearded man. He does wear a clam shell belt buckle though, so I suspect he lives near the Atlantic Ocean, probably New Bedford, Massachusetts, where all famous grouchy people come from.
12. For computer geeks only
George Whitfeld: "There are 10 kinds of people in the world; those who understand binary and those who don't."
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