Midwestern Rain Forest

e have had a lot of rain in the past few weeks. The result is exactly what one would expect- lush, deep green. As spring came to an end a little over a week ago there was an explosion in nature. Cow parsnip has become a forest; underbrush is not so "under" as all around; the canopy is fuller; the sun is stronger.

I spent a lot of time walking in Whitewater Park and biking various places between April 3 and June 20. To watch the transformation has been enlivening and exciting. It is almost unbelievable.

April 3

June 16

April 23

June 16

A Prayer in the Awareness of Powerlessness

Seems appropriate for just about any day:

There are times, O Lord, when I feel completely helpless to alter the circumstances in my life. I am powerless to turn around a bad economy, or ensure a favorable report from my doctor, or guarantee my spouse will always love me, or make sure I am never in an accident. When I sense that I have no control over what is occurring in my life, my energy lags and fear and frustration begin to overwhelm me. Let your spirit of peace spill freely over me until I recover my inner calm. Help me remember that it is not control that gives me peace, but knowing that I am loved and beloved by the heart of heaven.
--Explore Faith

Humbling Thought

I'm not sure anymore what brought this thought to mind, but I did write it down in my journal....

Most of what we do isn't done "for the ages" or to be remembered forever by future generations. It's done simply for the fact that it needs to be done for those around us today. That becomes much clearer as one gets older. Someone makes a comment about how something you did 20 years earlier touched them and you are suddenly transported back to moments to ministry long forgotten. But not forgotten by someone. Whether they pass that on to someone else is irrelevant. All that matters is that it was done in the first place.

That makes each day and its possible events that much more important and valuable.

The Iberian Showdown

This afternoon will end the 2nd round of the World Cup with an all Iberian match. Spain -vs- Portugal. With my main team out of the tournament, that leaves it all up to Spain.

In Spite of Will Rogers

There is an old joke that Will Rogers is quoted as having said:

I have great respect for a man who can play a saxophone

and doesn't.

I thought of that this morning when Wired.com posted that on this date in 1846 - a mere 164 years ago - Adolphe Sax emerged from his workshop with a new musical instrument- the saxophone.

It took many years for the sax to find any amount of honor. Personally, I'm still looking for it.

(To my sax playing friends and colleagues: Just a joke. At least it's not a banjo.)

And for added humor:

What do a saxophone and a baseball have in common?


People cheer when you hit them with a bat.

Invoking God's Blessing

Homeless

Hungry

Anything will help

God Bless

That's what the sign read held by the panhandler at the exit from the highway the other day. This has been a story around here for at least a year or more now. Panhandlers at the exit ramps from the highway and the exits from store/mall parking lots. Every now and then I see someone give one of them some money. Most of the time they seem to just stand there in their own zone.

I have had experiences with panhandlers many times when I was in the parish. Out east they would show up at the church door and have a story about going to Tennessee. Almost always Tennessee. Sometimes there were two or three, including children. Other times they were alone. There was one person who actually came back a couple of times over a two month period but denied it when I asked.

Then in the Midwest the destination changed to Kentucky or Texas. Always one or the other. Now there were more single people. Once in awhile a couple. Usually no children. They also became more sophisticated. They started calling ahead, going down the list in the phone book.

I was having lunch one day with a colleague from another Moravian Church when my secretary called saying that they had just gotten a phone call who she had on hold. Where should she refer him since she knew that the local ministers had a particular method. I told her and hung up.

Within five minutes my colleague, who was serving a church 25 miles from mine but next alphabetically, got a call from his secretary with the same question about a phone call with the same story. We looked at each other and shook our heads. often in situations where they called and we didn't give any money, just vouchers for food or gas at a local establishment, there would be a look of disappointment. If we were out of funds and couldn't help, or sent them to somewhere else for information they would often try a guilt trip...."And you call yourself Christian?"

All this went through my head as I looked at that sign. It's summer in Minnesota now and sleeping under bridges or in parks isn't quite as harsh. These same panhandlers are at the same places in mid-winter, though. It makes me wonder what is going on and what the story is. Part of me wants to make judgments, many of which just may be correct. Part of me wants to reach into my pocket and at least pull out the change.

Almost 100% of the time I do nothing. I don't have an answer. I feel guilty when God is invoked for a blessing that I may not receive now because I didn't give "anything" that could help. I didn't even think of praying until now as I write this after-the-fact. I know the passages from Matthew and James that add insult to my injury. I am sure there were permanent panhandlers in Jesus' day.

It is a conundrum- give to all, give to none, give to some?
It is a riddle- work for justice, give them a hand up instead of a hand-out, change the system?
It is a problem- outlaw panhandling, set limits on it, ignore it?

I like to think I am progressive, radical, caring. Sadly I discover I am just another confused Christian wondering what to do. I wish it were easy. Maybe it is, but I'm not getting the answers.

Discipleship and Church

Looking at the back of a bulletin today I was brought up short with another one of those "We've been hearing this for 40 years" moments. The scripture text had to do with those who were too busy to come along and follow Jesus. He responded, as we may remember, that we should let the dead bury the dead.

The text written by a young pastor had the sound of one I might have written 35 years ago. He was bemoaning the fact that a fishing trip "up north" often kept people away from church. Or the sad fact that going to soccer practice on a weekday evening kept them from attending Bible study. yep. I could have written those words in the mid-1970s.

I still remember a Friday evening when I was a guest preacher at a revival-type meeting at a friend's church in another town. As we drove through the downtown on the way to church I took notice of all the people walking along or the young people hanging around doing what young people do. "They should be in church tonight, I thought, (to hear me of course) and then they would get a new way of living. Then for many years I remember the bemoaning of myself along with colleagues about all those things that kept people away from church.

The bulletin author then went on to talk about Jesus' call to discipleship inherent in the scripture passage. These other things are keeping us from truly being disciples. It is the standard and long standing direction. It has not changed an iota in the 36 years since I was ordained or the 46 years since I became a Christian.

But I have learned in recent years through hard lessons of awareness that discipleship is NOT the same as going to church or attending Bible study. Discipleship may- and often does- get strengthened in those ways but they are not equal. Doing church work is not being a disciple in and of itself.

What heresy!

But I have come to believe that discipleship IS

• turning "water into wine" at a wedding feast at the local Legion Hall;
• picking up the injured man lying along your biking route;
• stopping and visiting with the woman at the (coffee shop) well;
• throwing money changers and bean counters out of God's houses of prayer.

Actually I have gone beyond heresy now to meddling. I know that because when I first wrote this down in my journal this morning I waffled on that last one- after all they pay my pension.)

The real enemy of discipleship is not necessarily the possibility of other things taking over our "church" duties. After all burying a dead loved one is not exactly an uncaring selfish thing. It may be that the real danger is to make the church the center of discipleship, the end-all and be-all of following Jesus.

I don't believe that is what Jesus meant.

Staring Lesson #1: Don't Watch the Mouth

Staring lesson #2: Don't do it with a Muppet.

Fun. Stupid. Nerdy. Silly. Hey, why not?

Common Can Still Be Interesting

Many years ago there was an ad for something or other that showed two people out hiking through a meadow. One of them stops and in a breathless voice points:

Look! There's a Red-winged Blackbird!

That is about the equivalent of standing in a New York City park and getting excited when you see pigeons. In my walks around Whitewater State Park this spring, the Red-winged Blackbird may very well rank as one of the most common of birds.

There's another one, just like the other one. [Yawn.]

We get so used to seeing some things that they no longer are unique on their own right. They become invisible. They lose their ability to inspire us, fill us with awe or even gain our attention.

Which is too bad because in reality it is the day-in and day-out events where we most often can be inspired and made more aware of the wonders of life. We ignore the green of the grass. We see green trees. Our friends and family are always there. Our co-workers are part of the job.

But how many shades of green are there while looking at just one tree, let alone a mountainside of them? What unique insight have you received in love from a family member today? Why is your best friend really your best friend? Would work be as much fun at times without that crazy co-worker's laugh?

Many of us have become so overwhelmed by so many things in life that everything becomes background noise until some BIG even breaks through. In my walks through the State park and my bike rides around the area I have seen more common things than surprising. Sure, I keep on the alert for the new and different, but the comfort of the Red-winged Blackbird is that she is still there.

Round Two Begins

My two teams are still in it: The USA and Spain as the second round of the World Cup 2010 in South Africa begins.

USA today.

Spain on Tuesday.

And did you see that more people are soccer fans than say they support the Tea Party Movement? Must be because of all those illegal immigrants selling drugs that does it.

A Bummer Tonight

Rochesterfest Parade was supposed to be this evening and our community band was in it. We were all there sitting on the big flatbed truck ready to go--

and they canceled it just at starting time at 6:15 due to approaching bad weather. We are under a tornado watch and big time storms are still to the west of us at 7:25, but heading this way. They felt it was better and safer than to start and then have storms move in with thousands of people lining the streets and the marchers, walkers, and everyone else in the parade.

I agree, but it's a bummer. The community band is now 0-2 this summer with 2 rainouts.

I'll probably post some pictures of the parade that wasn't sometime soon.



Update: Here's the Weather Underground Radar screen two hours after the parade was cancelled. The storms didn't follow normal paths and were just getting to us.

Still the right decision under the circumstances I believe. These are much too unpredictable for comfort, esp. since we had a real batch go through just a week ago.

A 40-Year Memory: Many Deaths Too Late

June 24 – The United States Senate repeals the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

What a Difference in Six Months

I posted this picture back in January. It was a winter picture of the southern end of the Great River Ridge Trail in southeastern Minnesota. I was dreaming of spring and summer....

Well, I finally got on this new trail last Saturday....

There was the usual scenery of flora and fauna to see...

And some fauna of a different type. The town of Elgin was having Cheese Days right along the trail.

And an old car show, like this scene of colorful "fauna" in a 1938 Ford.



The fun of cycling- you never know what you're going to see.

A Difficult Summer - for Blogging

It feels a lot like this summer (I know it's only just begun officially) is a low time for blogging. I think it has been one of the slowest and lowest I have had in a long time. When I have gone to the local coffee shop- I have been sitting outside and reading instead of inside and blogging. I have spent a lot of time outside walking and biking.

And of course there's also all those Twins games on TV.

I have a hunch that I have needed that down time. Last time I was back in Wisconsin visiting a number of interesting church/faith related issues came up in conversations. Some of them had to do with the nature of the church- something I have spent many hours in somewhat frivolous contemplation. Others had to do with spirituality and friendship and even aging.

I don't think I am ready to put these down on screen yet. But at least I had to do a little public priming of the pump. All this will either come rushing forth with a whole new set of insights- or I will discover that I may not have anything to say about them. But I will say that life is not dull.

A 40-Year Memory: Disappearing Railroad Blues

 
June 21 – Penn Central declares Section 77 bankruptcy, largest ever US corporate bankruptcy up to this date.

Note the old Pennsylvania RR Red Keystone, faded, 

on the side behind the cab.

Change We Truly Need Way beyond Politics

Mike at Waving or Drowning? posted this important quote a little over a week ago:

Incremental change is usually limited in scope and is often reversible. If the change does not work out, we can always return to the old way. Incremental change usually does not disrupt our past patterns--it is an extension of the past. Most important, during incremental change, we feel we are in control...

Deep change differs from incremental change in that it requires new ways of thinking and behaving. It is change that is major in scope, discontinuous with the past, and generally irreversible. The deep change effort distorts existing patterns of action and involves taking risks. Deep change means surrendering control.

Robert E. Quinn, Deep Change (p. 3)

There are many times when we settle for the incremental change because it is comfortable. In the end, true change that makes an important difference takes the deep risks and actions. I pray that we may all have the courage to accept that kind of change when rooted in compassion and love as shown in Jesus Christ.

In Memoriam: Jose Saramago

José Saramago, Nobel prize winning novelist, died yesterday at age 87. In his honor here are some quotes that ring with deep truth and challenge...

Words were not given to man in order to conceal his thoughts.

What kind of world is this that can send machines to Mars and does nothing to stop the killing of a human being?

There are plenty of reasons not to put up with the world as it is.

Human vocabulary is still not capable, and probably never will be, of knowing, recognizing, and communicating everything that can be humanly experienced and felt.

"Jose Saramago." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2010. 19 June. 2010. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/jose_saramago_2.html

PR Ooops- or Just Plain Clueless

Well it appears he is getting his life back. The headline from Yahoo! News:

As oil spews in Gulf, BP chief at UK yacht race

My vote is for clueless.

Five Months and Still Working At It

I am now at the end of 5 months of steady, regular working out. I also took a new "wellness" check-up on Friday, about 4 months since the last one. It turns out that all this working out has had generally positive results (not a surprise) and one that so far hasn't been seen (frustrating.)

The good news:

• My cardio has improved 20%!
• My strength levels have balanced between upper body and leg strength. (Upper was bad in January.)
• Overall, I feel great. I am probably in as good a physical shape as I have been in years.
• In the past few weeks I have lost some weight- actually about 6 pounds on average- from what I was a month ago. Which is a result of my annual physical exam last month.
• My bike riding this spring has been a lot easier and more enjoyable than either of the past two springs. More energy, more strength, less exhaustion as soon.

The bad news:

• My body mass index (BMI) has not changed since January.

Yeah- the trainer was stumped, too. Just like my doctor was at my physical last month. Actually, it is probably a lot less of a mystery than rocket science. As I started exercising more I also started eating more to make up for the increased caloric burning.

In other words I did the Move More part of weight loss and not the Eat Less part.  I stopped the weight gain, but didn't reverse directions. Until now. So I am now attempting to watch my eating. In so doing a couple things actually surprised me:

• Using fat-free French dressing at lunch instead of bleu cheese dressing actually decreases my intake by 100 calories a day- 500 calories/week.
• Only having my Caribou decaf coffee cooler twice a week instead of five times a week saves another 1000 calories/week.
• Cutting out two baked goods at the convenience store lowers calories by at least another 600 calories/week.

Add that up and you get a whole extra day of calories in a single week. Trying to squeeze 8 days of food into 7 adds up. Real fast.

Thank goodness for the exercise regimen. Imagine how much easier my bike riding will be when I am not carrying around that extra 10 - 15 pounds. Which reminds me- I hope to do some more tail riding tomorrow (Saturday.) It's been a couple of weeks and the weather hasn't cooperated on the days I have been able to ride. Things are looking good for tomorrow after those destructive storms that raged through here yesterday. We even had a small EF 1 tornado here in Rochester. It was quite a storm. But it's to be a great day tomorrow. Will keep you posted on that. And my continuing road to feeling better each day.

Wake Up, World

With the World Cup noise controversy, here from El Pais:

British Understatement

I was listening to NPR and the program The World with news from the BBC last night. I was struck by the wonderful British humor style that was so powerful on radio. They reported the story of the 6-story Jesus statue in Ohio that was destroyed by fire on Monday night. In a just-the-facts-ma'am style they let their listeners know simply what happened. The tag to the report was a simple sentence:

The insurance company considered it an act of God.

No comment. No snarky giggle. Nothing but a statement in good news tradition.

Classic British!

Laughing at Bad Driving

There is one particular ad during the Twins' games recently that has caused me some distress. It is for a car service company and it shows a husband and wife talking and laughing about the husband's bad driving skills, not to mention inattentive driving. The wife tells us that she was even talking to him on the cell phone when he had his latest apparent accident.

Then they laugh about it and give thanks for the auto service company that comes to their rescue every time something happens.

Ha, ha, ha. Isn't it funny that this guy can't drive well and is inattentive.
Ha, ha, ha. We can fix the car when it gets banged up.

Somehow this is not funny. It's okay to be inattentive and a bad driver as long as someone can fix your car. It is not only not funny, it has a real air of irresponsibility about it. I hope it doesn't run for long.

It's All in the Spin

Yes, it was an "upset" of sorts. But a 1-1 tie can hardly be considered a win. It may feel almost as good as a win under the circumstances, but it's still not a win.


HT to Andrew at Daily Dish

Flag Day, 2010

Forever in peace may she wave.

Sunday Thought

This quote from G. K. Chesterton seems appropriate after some of what I was listening to on radio. It may be more important to consider as one nears retirement age than at first glance. It may also give many answers to many problems our world faces.

There are two ways to get enough: One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.

In the living responses to this quote may be a living response to our spiritual lives as well.

Farewell, Good Doctor

The good Dr. Demento is calling it quits. After nearly 40 years on the air playing the goofy, the weird, the odd and the novelty, his last show is this weekend. He will continue to produce for his Internet site. I didn't even know he was still on the air.

In the good Doctor's honor, here is one of the consistent top 50 songs on his show over the years in a decidedly 21st Century video version.....

Watching Words

News on Thursday had an off-color twist to it.

First, from the world of sports and the FIFA World Cup now underway, came the news that the Brazilian referee and assistants for today's USA-England match were learning their swear words in English.

And then, an Arizona man got a summons to court. He had received a jury call, but returned it filled with obscenities in black marker.

Of course, this "bad words in the news" isn't anything new. George Carlin became famous for those words you can't say on radio, which when broadcast on radio became a case all the way to the Supreme Court. And more recently there is CBS who will be airing a new show this fall. “$#*! My Father Says” has already caused headlines. Oh, and Bono of U2 getting so excited he said what he shouldn't have.

I have no great and profound insights into all this. It just strikes me that we pay a lot of attention to words and trying to control them.

Are You Ready for Some Futbol?

Get the adrenaline going. The FIFA World Cup, arguably the greatest single sporting event in the world, has begun. Here is a Nike Write the Future ad, full length, featuring some of the greats.....



When I turned on the TV yesterday for the second match, I heard a noise in the background. It was the sound of a thousand bees buzzing. No. I was a South African tradition. So as a bonus, here's a fun background on the vuvuzela, the legendary and (un?) popular horn that is a staple of South African futbol....

Clocks or Clouds

Jonah Lehrer posted on his Frontal Cortex blog some info from an earlier article of his in Wired magazine.

Karl Popper, the great philosopher of science, once divided the world into two categories: clocks and clouds. Clocks are neat, orderly systems that can be solved through reduction; clouds are an epistemic mess, "highly irregular, disorderly, and more or less unpredictable." The mistake of modern science is to pretend that everything is a clock, which is why we get seduced again and again by the false promises of brain scanners and gene sequencers. We want to believe we will understand nature if we find the exact right tool to cut its joints. But that approach is doomed to failure. We live in a universe not of clocks but of clouds.

Interesting. Lehrer is talking about the desire to get to the root of all things human- the genetic sequencing that will give us all answer to all things. He is saying that this comes from the old "clock" idea. Somewhere at the heart of all things, the "clock" idea says, is a fine-tuned instrument that always runs like "clockwork." But in many ways we know that this is just not so.

It is also interesting when you apply the same thoughts to the ideas about God. There was a time when the theo-philosophers saw God as a great Clockmaker in the sky. he put it all together and then just let it go. That gave an orderliness to it- the universe went like clockwork. But as we have come to see a more chaotic world where things don't seem to always fall into place, perhaps it is time to see God in the universe of clouds.

God- unpredictable? You bet. Just take a look at the Bible. He always does what is least likely to be expected. Choosing a nobody people. Having his Son die. Resurrection. Nah- that's not a clockwork God. It is a God who cares.

Which may be at least something that we can- and should hang on to.

Take it Literally and You Get....

Adobe Photoshop

from Global Nerdy with a HT to Cory at BoingBoing.

Hype Became Reality

On Tuesday I mentioned pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg debuting for the Washington Nationals. Here is the story from Reuters the next day....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Stephen Strasburg lived up to his billing in a much-anticipated major league debut with the Washington Nationals on Tuesday as the 2009 top draft pick struck out 14 batters to help his team to a 5-2 victory.

In one of the most talked about Major League Baseball debuts in years, the 21-year-old right-hander retired nine of the first 10 Pittsburgh batters he faced in front of a standing room-only crowd at Nationals Park.

Strasburg, who mixes a high-velocity fastball with good off-speed pitches, allowed just four hits and did not walk a Pittsburgh batter. He also struck out the final seven batters he faced before being taken out of the game.

It was the most strikeouts in a debut by a rookie since J. R. Richard fanned 15 in 1971.

A great debut- but after reading the book High Heat  it will take a lot more than a great debut to make Stephen Strasburg a bona fide star. That and years of consistent results. And don't forget good health and luck. It may be interesting to watch.

He's scheduled to pitch again on June 13 in Cleveland.

A 40-Year Memory: About Time

June 10 – U.S. President Richard Nixon signs a measure lowering the voting age to 18.

I was already over 21, but it was still a big, important day.

How to Change a Fruit Into a Vegetable

Easy. Ask the Supreme Court.

Mental Floss discussed the difficult history of the tomato. I discovered that it is legally a "vegetable" because the Supreme Court said so in a case on the Tariff Act of 1883. You see if it were a "fruit" it wouldn't have had a tariff on it. So in its profound wisdom they affirmed that botanically tomatoes are fruit, for tariff purposes they are vegetables.

Don't let science confuse the facts. It is what we say it is.

It made me think of a poster at the RACE exhibit currently at the Rochester Public Library. That one is about the avocado. In some cultures they view it as a fruit. In others it is a vegetable. Again, I guess it all depends on where you are and what political or economic benefit you can get from one or the other.

In other words, maybe people are not one thing in one place and another somewhere else. Perhaps "race" is a cultural idea supported by laws and custom and not science. For years(so-called) "science" justified race in many different ways. None of them have held any truth. None of them have been proven.

But it was a nice convenient way to separate some people as inferior or worse- less than human. It was an easy way to deny that there is, biologically, only the human race. If we say it's that way, well, that's the way it is.

And don't let biology get in the way.

Updates from News and Sports....

1) Bishop Elected, Episcopalians Suspended
In the ever-increasing difficulty within churches over issues gay, the Episcopalians have been suspended by the world-wide Anglican movement from serving on ecumenical bodies. All because of a lesbian elected bishop in California. There was supposed to be a moratorium on such actions. The main effect will be in ecumenical dialogues between the Anglicans and other church bodies.
~~~~ Somehow this doesn't sound like a big punishment. "Sorry- you can't be called a committee member anymore." Scares me.

2) Oil Spill
I came across a web site that superimposes the current size of the oil spill on top of where you live. I did it and was shocked by the size when placed over someplace I am familiar with. It is downright frightening.
~~~~I can't even think of a snide remark. It's much too serious for that.
Link to map.
~~~~Side note heard on NPR- BP has purchased a sponsored link on Internet search engines. Their "Sponsored Link" will show up at the top of a number of different searches. Good use of money. (Ooops. Tongue got caught in my left cheek.)

3) The Longest War
One word: Afghanistan.

~~~~Wait a minute. Didn't the Soviets try the same thing once upon a time?

4) Send Them Home?
Helen Thomas. A DC news icon for seemingly centuries. She thinks the Jews should leave Palestine and head home. To Germany.
~~~~Sure- right after the Europeans go back home and leave America to the Americans .

5) Now in Sports- Hope for High Heat
The BIG STORY today has been the Washington Nationals. No, not a typo. They had the top draft pick last year, a major pitching phenom named Stephen Strasburg. Supposedly the biggest, meanest, best fastball pitcher since, well, maybe forever. A sell-out crowd in DC as he made his MLB debut. There was even a news post after the first inning to say he had 11 pitches and six of them were strikes. Then he struck out the side in the second. And two more in the third. Hmmm. Maybe he has potential.
~~~~Finally, news that affects all of us. (Ooops. Tongue got caught in my right cheek.)

Islands Are Beautiful

Especially when seen from space.

Last Tuesday I posted a link and picture about rivers. This week it's islands. Last fall Wired.com posted 11 stunning pictures of islands. The one at right is Millennium Island, Republic of Kiribati, South Pacific Ocean. It looks like an amoeba to me.

Wired.com

Trust

In a newsletter from Explore Faith:

• May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be...
• May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you… 
• May you be content knowing you are a child of God…
• Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise, and love. It is there for each and every one of you.

— Mother Teresa

FIFA World Cup is Coming

To honor the biggest sporting event of the year, ESPN and New York ad agency Wieden + Kennedy made 32 original posters, one for each participating country at World Cup 2010 hosted in South Africa. Here are two from my favorites, the USA (left) and Spain (below):

From:BuzzFeed where you can find more of them.


First matches are June 11. USA gets started on June 12 against England (who will be looking for a grudge win). Spain's first match is June 16 against Switzerland. I don't understand soccer but it sure is fun when it's World Cup time.

FIFA.
Schedule.

Don't Bring Me Down

This is a real bummer. Studies in England, according to Yahoo! News Wednesday have indicated that caffeine addicts do not get a boost from their morning cup o' Joe. The "perceived" boost is actually the medicating of the downer that is caffeine withdrawal. In essence it is only bringing them back to a normal level of alertness and not a higher level. All they are doing is overcoming the fatigue of acute withdrawal.

Now it would be natural to think, then, that if one would just stop caffeine, one wouldn't be as tired in the morning and then one wouldn't need the caffeine boost.

What a horrible thought.

But spoken like a true addict.

Cycling in Spring

 
For a number of reasons the past two years I didn't start riding my bike until the middle of June. Already I have done three trail rides. First was the short Zumbro South here in Rochester back when the bluebells were blooming. Then the past two weeks on the Wild Goose Trail near Horicon March in Wisconsin and the Douglas Trail here in the Rochester area.

It is really a joy to get out and ride again. The Wild Goose Trail is a crushed stone trail while the Douglas is paved.

But the differences in flora and fauna- nah. It's all wonderful.

Like the columbine blooming ...

and the Indigo Bunting hopping, both in Wisconsin ...

But there are surprises - such as this old rooster along the Douglas Trail ....

and no matter how common the flower, even phlox will show its beauty.

That Would Sure Tick ME Off

Ninth inning.

Two outs.

A Perfect Game.

And the umpire- a veteran- blows the call.

Then admits it later when watching the replay.

It would have been was the 3rd perfect game this season. There have only been 20 (+this one) in major league history.

Somehow, mea culpa doesn't quite make it.

Forgotten Language

...by Shel Silverstein

Once I spoke the language of the flowers,
Once I understood each word the caterpillar said,
Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings,
And shared a conversation with the housefly
in my bed.
Once I heard and answered all the questions
of the crickets,
And joined the crying of each falling dying
flake of snow,

Once I spoke the language of the flowers. . . .
How did it go?
How did it go?

Awesome Pictures of Earth and Rivers

Wired Magazine posted one of their slide shows a few months ago of some of Earth's rivers taken from space. At right here is Niagara Falls.

As I looked at the pics they have posted I was struck by the similarities as much as by the differences. But even more than their similarities to each other, there is a commonality to them than might remind us of many other designs in nature. Fractals and chaos theory can give us some understanding of it from a scientific point of view.

But from an aesthetic view- they are just plain unbeatable.

LINK to Wired Magazine's gallery of rivers.