Sunday, May 03, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Healthy Journey Day Nine
Instead of the plain yogurt yesterday morning with my oatmeal, I had half a 6 oz. cup of another flavored, soy yogurt, this one the All Natural So Delicious Dairy Free Cream Cultured Soy Vanilla. For flavor, it has "organic evaporated cane juice, chicory root extract (inulin), pectin, dextrose, natural flavors . . . citric acid" I'm no sure what all of that means, and I need to find out. I will go to the plain, soy yogurt when we finish off the flavored cups we bought Saturday. With the oatmeal and yogurt I had a half cup of frozen Publix Blueberries "Healthy, Fun & Firm."
For lunch, I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich (hearkening back to my cousin Ken's favorite lunch when we were kids) on whole wheat; a serving of Progresso Vegetable Classics 99% Fat Free Lentil Soup; baby raw carrots; and an apple. The peanut butter was Jiffy Crunchy, and I know people get exercised about commercial peanut butter. It's something I will find out about.
I taught a class at the UM Law School from 5 to 7:45 last night and took a hummus sandwich to eat at the break. It was also on whole wheat bread and had lettuce and tomato with it. When I got home, I microwaved a bag of Act II 94% Fat Free Butter popcorn and had a frozen banana. Yes, the popcorn had some "dairy." I'm not counting it right now.
For lunch, I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich (hearkening back to my cousin Ken's favorite lunch when we were kids) on whole wheat; a serving of Progresso Vegetable Classics 99% Fat Free Lentil Soup; baby raw carrots; and an apple. The peanut butter was Jiffy Crunchy, and I know people get exercised about commercial peanut butter. It's something I will find out about.
I taught a class at the UM Law School from 5 to 7:45 last night and took a hummus sandwich to eat at the break. It was also on whole wheat bread and had lettuce and tomato with it. When I got home, I microwaved a bag of Act II 94% Fat Free Butter popcorn and had a frozen banana. Yes, the popcorn had some "dairy." I'm not counting it right now.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Healthy Journey Sunday Evening Supper
Here's Carol just now preparing "quick cooking mushroom-barley soup" from Lorna Sass' Short-Cut Vegetarian; "roasted asparagus with a balsmic butter sauce" (I concede that the butter is "dairy", but she is cooking up the butter that's left) from Cooking Lite; and "early morning oven roasted new potatoes," mainly, she says, because "we need to eat these potatoes," I guess because they aren't as "new" as they were when she bought them. (Yes, it's not "early morning." Carol's the cook. Are you kidding me?) She got that recipe on line.
[Insert oath], I'm a lucky husband!!!
[Insert oath], I'm a lucky husband!!!
A Healthy Journey
The bout with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma that Carol and I had in 1994 (I had the chemo, she had the sick husband), marked the beginning of our inquiry into how to live more healthy lives. Among the changes we adopted progressively since then were changes in our diet. Carol was already a marvelous cook, and she began to change her approach to meal preparation. We started to move away from a meat centered, refined carbohydrate diet, and each year has seen us make some make progress on that healthy journey. During the course of that journey, Weight Watchers has been a great help, especially for me. For Carol the journey has included the joy she finds in the kitchen learning new ways to feed her family.
I have been reading a book called The China Study, as I have posted before. This book has captured my attention as nothing I have read in the area of nutrition. Its thesis is that a diet based on plant-protein and complex carbohydrates is the one that is most likely to result in one's living his life to its end in a way that is not compromised with an extended, final period of disability. At this point 15 years after Carol and I started our healthy journey, this thesis makes complete sense to me.
Today is the ninth day of my living a dietary life based on that thesis. I feel good, and not particularly deprived. We were very close to this life already, except for the dairy based food that we ate. The proportion of meat products was already relatively small. Giving up frozen yogurt, ice-cream, scrambled eggs and cheese (how we love cheese!) - that's more difficult for sure. But, still, we are getting along fine, even after just a week or so.
The weekend is when Carol goes grocery shopping, so we did the first grocery shopping under this new regime yesterday. On Saturday afternoon Carol brought home from Publix some "vegan" products, and then we went shopping together at Whole Foods and picked up some more.
This morning Carol pulled out of our pantry some relatively healthy canned foods that are not vegan. We took them to church this morning to put in the basket that goes to a church in Hialeah that distributes food to needy families. So now we are ready for week two of this journey.
As we go along, I thought I would let you know how we are doing and what we are eating.
Let me start with breakfast this morning. My usual breakfast has been oatmeal, plain yogurt and a banana or frozen berries. I have been having the oatmeal all week without the yogurt. At Whole Foods yesterday, however, we bought some yogurt substitutes of different kinds and brands. I used a half of a 6 oz. cup of WholeSoy & Co.'s strawberry "soy yogurt," and could not tell much difference when mixed with the oatmeal. I ate the rest of the cup as a snack later in the day, and it was good. It didn't taste exactly like dairy yogurt, but it was tasty and satisfying.
The entire cup has 160 calories, 25 from fat. It was quite sweet, and a cup has 21g of sugar, which is a lot. I am used to plain yogurt with my oatmeal, but I was worried that this product would taste awful. So I hedged by getting the flavored version. The sugars are "organic cornstarch, organic rice starch, strawberries, and natural flavors." I would be glad to skip the corn and rice starch. So tomorrow I am going to try Silk Live! Soy Yogurt in its "Plain" version on my oatmeal. (WholeSoy has a "plain" version too.)
These soy yogurts have "live and active cultures to help your body's natural defenses," according to the Silk container.
Lunch on Sundays has always been problematical, because we have it at church. Often what is served is full of a lot of fat and refined carbohydrates. There are always cookies and cakes, and I find that sort of thing hard to resist, especially when I have eaten sparingly of the "main" courses. But today I took with me an Amy's Black Bean Tamale Verde, put it in the church's kitchen freezer just after we first arrived for Sunday School and then pulled it out and microwaved it after the worship service, when everyone was lined up in Fellowship Hall for the usual spread. (This dish, according to the box is "Gluten free . . . non-dairy . . . no cholesterol . . . no trans fat . . . no added msg . . . no preservatives . . . no GMOs (whatever they are) . . . No Bioengineered ingredients." Whew!).
After I heated up the dish, I put it on one of the paper plates and got at the end of the line and got some tossed salad and some tomato slices, because the dish did not look like it would be enough. I sat down at a table and thoroughly enjoyed the food and the fellowship, and no one seemed to know the difference. The Black Bean Tamale Verde was excellent.
Carol and Mary have been talking on the phone this weekend about vegetarian recipes, and so I am looking forward to more good things from Carol's kitchen.
Carol and I have talked a good bit about the social issues involved with this development. We are not going to be crusading about this, and when social situations with others involve non-vegan dishes, we will certainly join in. The question is more about one's default approach to nutrition and also about developing one's own strategies to make this approach not a burden on others.
I have been reading a book called The China Study, as I have posted before. This book has captured my attention as nothing I have read in the area of nutrition. Its thesis is that a diet based on plant-protein and complex carbohydrates is the one that is most likely to result in one's living his life to its end in a way that is not compromised with an extended, final period of disability. At this point 15 years after Carol and I started our healthy journey, this thesis makes complete sense to me.
Today is the ninth day of my living a dietary life based on that thesis. I feel good, and not particularly deprived. We were very close to this life already, except for the dairy based food that we ate. The proportion of meat products was already relatively small. Giving up frozen yogurt, ice-cream, scrambled eggs and cheese (how we love cheese!) - that's more difficult for sure. But, still, we are getting along fine, even after just a week or so.
The weekend is when Carol goes grocery shopping, so we did the first grocery shopping under this new regime yesterday. On Saturday afternoon Carol brought home from Publix some "vegan" products, and then we went shopping together at Whole Foods and picked up some more.
This morning Carol pulled out of our pantry some relatively healthy canned foods that are not vegan. We took them to church this morning to put in the basket that goes to a church in Hialeah that distributes food to needy families. So now we are ready for week two of this journey.
As we go along, I thought I would let you know how we are doing and what we are eating.
Let me start with breakfast this morning. My usual breakfast has been oatmeal, plain yogurt and a banana or frozen berries. I have been having the oatmeal all week without the yogurt. At Whole Foods yesterday, however, we bought some yogurt substitutes of different kinds and brands. I used a half of a 6 oz. cup of WholeSoy & Co.'s strawberry "soy yogurt," and could not tell much difference when mixed with the oatmeal. I ate the rest of the cup as a snack later in the day, and it was good. It didn't taste exactly like dairy yogurt, but it was tasty and satisfying.
The entire cup has 160 calories, 25 from fat. It was quite sweet, and a cup has 21g of sugar, which is a lot. I am used to plain yogurt with my oatmeal, but I was worried that this product would taste awful. So I hedged by getting the flavored version. The sugars are "organic cornstarch, organic rice starch, strawberries, and natural flavors." I would be glad to skip the corn and rice starch. So tomorrow I am going to try Silk Live! Soy Yogurt in its "Plain" version on my oatmeal. (WholeSoy has a "plain" version too.)
These soy yogurts have "live and active cultures to help your body's natural defenses," according to the Silk container.
Lunch on Sundays has always been problematical, because we have it at church. Often what is served is full of a lot of fat and refined carbohydrates. There are always cookies and cakes, and I find that sort of thing hard to resist, especially when I have eaten sparingly of the "main" courses. But today I took with me an Amy's Black Bean Tamale Verde, put it in the church's kitchen freezer just after we first arrived for Sunday School and then pulled it out and microwaved it after the worship service, when everyone was lined up in Fellowship Hall for the usual spread. (This dish, according to the box is "Gluten free . . . non-dairy . . . no cholesterol . . . no trans fat . . . no added msg . . . no preservatives . . . no GMOs (whatever they are) . . . No Bioengineered ingredients." Whew!).
After I heated up the dish, I put it on one of the paper plates and got at the end of the line and got some tossed salad and some tomato slices, because the dish did not look like it would be enough. I sat down at a table and thoroughly enjoyed the food and the fellowship, and no one seemed to know the difference. The Black Bean Tamale Verde was excellent.
Carol and Mary have been talking on the phone this weekend about vegetarian recipes, and so I am looking forward to more good things from Carol's kitchen.
Carol and I have talked a good bit about the social issues involved with this development. We are not going to be crusading about this, and when social situations with others involve non-vegan dishes, we will certainly join in. The question is more about one's default approach to nutrition and also about developing one's own strategies to make this approach not a burden on others.
World Malaria Day - April 25
Yesterday was World Malaria Day. According to a paper that Mary is writing for her bio class, an estimated 500 million people suffer from malaria each year, resulting in over one million deaths, mostly of children and mostly affecting poor populatons in tropical and subtropical areas.
Experts say one child dies of malaria every 30 seconds. Around the world, malaria kills 3,000 children under 5 every day, a higher mortality rate than AIDS. - New York Times 10-31-1998.
Experts say one child dies of malaria every 30 seconds. Around the world, malaria kills 3,000 children under 5 every day, a higher mortality rate than AIDS. - New York Times 10-31-1998.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Law Firms and Starbucks
Carol sent this to me. I think the difference is that there is no guild controllong the delivery of coffee but there is one controlling the delivery of legal servies. This doesn't necessarily mean that the lawyers' guild should be broken open, but it certainly suggests an inquiry into that matter.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Recalibrating
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
-James 1:27
-James 1:27
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Fat Intake and Breast Cancer
Concerning the evidence in Chart 4.7 [reflecting a well-designed and implemented, country to country study made by the late Kenneth K. Carroll, professor at the U of West Ontario, of the positive correlation between total fat intake and breast cancer], the solution seems obvious: if we eat less fat, then we'll lower our breast cancer risk. Most scientists made this conclusion and some surmised that dietary fat caused breast cancer. But that interpretation was too simple. Other charts (Charts 4.8 and 4.9) prepared by Professor Carroll were largely, almost totally, ignored (Charts 4.8 and 4.9). They show that breast cancer was associated with animal fat intake but not with plant fat.
-from The China Study at pages 84 and 85.
-from The China Study at pages 84 and 85.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Security Guards in lieu of Police Officers
The WSJ today carried an article about municipalities that are hiring security guards to do police work.
Hiring private guards is less expensive than hiring new officers. Oakland - facing a record $80 million budget shortfall - spends about 65% of its budget for police and fire services, including about $250,000 annually, including benefits and salary on each police officer. In contrast, for about $200,000 a year the city can contract to hire four private guards to patrol the troubled East Oakland district where four on-duty police officers were killed in March. And the company, not the city, is reponsible for insurance for the guards.
UPDATE: The WSJ reports today that the Oakland contract was cancelled because of a fraud investigation of the owners of the security firm. So much for outsourcing.
Hiring private guards is less expensive than hiring new officers. Oakland - facing a record $80 million budget shortfall - spends about 65% of its budget for police and fire services, including about $250,000 annually, including benefits and salary on each police officer. In contrast, for about $200,000 a year the city can contract to hire four private guards to patrol the troubled East Oakland district where four on-duty police officers were killed in March. And the company, not the city, is reponsible for insurance for the guards.
UPDATE: The WSJ reports today that the Oakland contract was cancelled because of a fraud investigation of the owners of the security firm. So much for outsourcing.
"Long Term Consequences are Grave"
I receive periodic letters and reports on the economic and investment climate from many sources. Many of them I have learned simply to discard, but others I read carefully. One of the latter is from an investment manager at Northern Trust. His letter of April 10 includes this passage:
We believe [the US] governments' (sic) aggressive monetary and fiscal stimulus programs will restore positive economic growth at some point during the second half of this year. We also acknowledge that the longer-term consequences of these programs are grave, and to the extent these programs are not unwound in a timely and successful manner, they may become the source of future economic distress. Nonetheless, these massive governmental interventions were and remain necessary given the past 20 months' precipitous collapse in global commerce and credit.
We believe [the US] governments' (sic) aggressive monetary and fiscal stimulus programs will restore positive economic growth at some point during the second half of this year. We also acknowledge that the longer-term consequences of these programs are grave, and to the extent these programs are not unwound in a timely and successful manner, they may become the source of future economic distress. Nonetheless, these massive governmental interventions were and remain necessary given the past 20 months' precipitous collapse in global commerce and credit.
Friday, April 17, 2009
"He who does not know food, how can he understand the diseases of man?"
-Hipporactes, the father of medicine (400-357 B.C.), as quoted in The China Study.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
eBooks Cheap
Here's link to a list of 10 sites where one can down load eBooks without charge. Of the Kindle books I listed on the next previous post, items 7, 8, 10, and 11 were free or cost around a dollar.
Books I'm Reading Update
1. The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health, T. Colin Campbell.
2. Daniel, Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy, Beth Moore
3. Truman, David McCullough (Kindle)
4. Celebration of Discipline, Foster
5. Chronological Study Bible
6. The Third Option, Flynn (Fiction: Kindle)
7. The Journal of John Wesley (Kindle)
8. Table Talk, Luther (Kindle)
9. Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin, (Ford Lewis Battle translation)
10. The Imitation of Christ, a Kempis (Kindle)
11. Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (Kindle)
2. Daniel, Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy, Beth Moore
3. Truman, David McCullough (Kindle)
4. Celebration of Discipline, Foster
5. Chronological Study Bible
6. The Third Option, Flynn (Fiction: Kindle)
7. The Journal of John Wesley (Kindle)
8. Table Talk, Luther (Kindle)
9. Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin, (Ford Lewis Battle translation)
10. The Imitation of Christ, a Kempis (Kindle)
11. Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (Kindle)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Let's [Tea] Party, Miami Springs and America!
On the Circle and at the Gazebo, where we signed petitions and threw our tea [bags] into the brine.
Are We Surprised?
Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security Director who lately distinguished herself with a report warning that people with "right-wing" views should be surveilled for terrorist leanings, turns out to be a surveillance advocate all 'round. The WSJ today reports that the Arizona legislature is
considering bills to dismantle the [freeway speed camera system] created by [then] Gov. Janet Napolitano when she faced a gaping budget deficit.
This is the system built on "short yellows," meaning the yellow light on the traffic signal that lights up as the signal is turning red. The "short yellows" are attached to a robotic camera that takes a photo of an offender's license plate as he drives through the intersection and then sends the offender a ticket.
considering bills to dismantle the [freeway speed camera system] created by [then] Gov. Janet Napolitano when she faced a gaping budget deficit.
This is the system built on "short yellows," meaning the yellow light on the traffic signal that lights up as the signal is turning red. The "short yellows" are attached to a robotic camera that takes a photo of an offender's license plate as he drives through the intersection and then sends the offender a ticket.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Don't Mess With Texas
No, really. Don't.
Gov. Perry Backs Resolution Affirming Texas’ Sovereignty Under 10th Amendment
Gov. Perry Backs Resolution Affirming Texas’ Sovereignty Under 10th Amendment
A number of recent federal proposals are not within the scope of the federal government’s constitutionally designated powers and impede the states’ right to govern themselves. HCR 50 affirms that Texas claims sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not otherwise granted to the federal government.
It also designates that all compulsory federal legislation that requires states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties, or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding, be prohibited or repealed.
Off The Wall
The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement officials about a rise in "rightwing extremist activity," saying the economic recession, the election of America's first black president and the return of a few disgruntled war veterans could swell the ranks of white-power militias.
A footnote attached to the report by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines "rightwing extremism in the United States" as including not just racist or hate groups, but also groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority.
"It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," the warning says.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Obama and the Pirates
This is a pop quiz, not an exam, not a mid-term, and certainly not a final. One hopes he passes with flying colors.
UPDATE: Flying colors it is!
FURTHER UPDATE: Maybe not quite so flying. The WSJ reported today (4/13) that when Capt. Phillips jumped out of the lifeboat a couple of days ago and managed to swim away, the Navy did not yet have authorization to use force. The pirates shot at the captain and recaptured him. The Navy should already have had the authorization. There may have been an opportunity missed, then, to intervene at that point and save the captain. It turned out well, but the credit due the President seems compromised.
See, also, this from Glenn Reynolds.
UPDATE: Flying colors it is!
FURTHER UPDATE: Maybe not quite so flying. The WSJ reported today (4/13) that when Capt. Phillips jumped out of the lifeboat a couple of days ago and managed to swim away, the Navy did not yet have authorization to use force. The pirates shot at the captain and recaptured him. The Navy should already have had the authorization. There may have been an opportunity missed, then, to intervene at that point and save the captain. It turned out well, but the credit due the President seems compromised.
See, also, this from Glenn Reynolds.
Backyard Orchids and a Puppy
Two of our orchids are blooming, and the Jeraulds, who live across the street with their three little boys, have a puppy, a Golden Lab.
Happy Birthday, Christians!
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1: 3 - 5
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Doctors' Diaries
This is a great series from NOVA about the experiences of a group of med students at Harvard. I find it especially intense and moving to watch, as I think about Mary and her future.
Thinking about the Second Day
Where was Jesus the day after Good Friday? Some controversy here.
Gleason L. Archer, Jr., approaches the question in Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties by noting that Jesus told the repentant thief that "today you will be with Me in paradise." But, Archer asks, was it not only after Jesus arose that He ascended to heaven? Archer goes on as follows:
The answer lies in the location of 'paradise'.
Apparently paradise was not exalted to heaven until Easter Day. Jesus apparently refers to it in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus as "Abraham's Bosom," to which the godly beggar Lazarus was carried by the angels after his decease (Luke 16:19-31). Thus "Abraham's Bosom" referred to the place where the souls of the redeemed waited till the day of Christ's resurrection. Presumably this was the same place as paradise. It was not yet lifted up to heaven but it may well have been a section of hades [reference to the Hebrew word for Hades omitted], reserved for believers who died in the faith but who would not be admitted into the glorious presence of God in heaven until the price of redemption had been actually paid on Calvary.
Doubtless is was to the infernal paradise that the souls of Jesus and the repentant thief repaired after they each died on Friday afternoon. But then on Easter Sunday, after the risen Christ had first appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 20:17) and her two companions (Matt. 28:9), presumably he took up with Him to glory all the inhabitants of infernal paradise (including Abraham, Lazarus, and the repentant thief). We read in Ephesians 4:8 concerning Christ: "Ascending on high, He led captivity captive: He gave gifts unto men." Verse 9 continues: "But what does 'He ascended' mean but that He also descended to the lowers parts of the earth?"-i.e., to hades. Verse 10 adds: "He who descended is the same as He who ascended above all the heavens." Presumably He led the whole band of liberated captives from hades (i.e., the whole population of preresurrection paradise) up to the glory of the highest heaven, the abode of the Triune God.
Archer has allies in the Eastern Church. The following is from the The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church (Moscow, 1839, as quoted in Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, V. II):
"213. What should we think of the state in which Jesus Christ was after his death, and before his resurrection?
"This is described in the following hymn of the Church: In the grave as to the flesh, in hades with thy soul, as God, in paradise with the thief, and on the throne were thou, O Christ, together with the Father and the Spirit, filling all things, thyself uncircumscribed.
"214. What is hades or hell?
"Hades is a Greek word, and means a place "void of light." In divinity, by this name is understood a spiritual prison, that is, the state of those spirits which are separated by sin from the sight of God's countenance, and from the light and blessedness which it confers.
"215. Wherefore did Jesus Christ descend into hell?
"To the end that he might there also preach his victory over death, and deliver the souls which with faith awaited his coming.
"216. Does holy Scripture speak of this?
"It is referred to in the following passage: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he may bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quikened in the spirit; in which also he want and preached uto the spirits in prison." 1 Pet. iii 18, 19."
But what of the Reformers? John Calvin, at least, would disagree with Archer, the Eastern Church, and others. In his Institutes, the following in Book 2, Chapter 16:
"8. Here we must not omit the descent to hell, which was of no little importance to the accomplishment of redemption. For although it is apparent from the writings of the ancient Fathers, that the clause which now stands in the Creed was not formerly so much used in the churches, still, in giving a summary of doctrine, a place must be assigned to it, as containing a matter of great importance which ought not by any means to be disregarded. Indeed, some of the ancient Fathers do not omit it, and hence we may conjecture, that having been inserted in the Creed after a considerable lapse of time, it came into use in the Church not immediately but by degrees. This much is uncontroverted, that it was in accordance with the general sentiment of all believers, since there is none of the Fathers who does not mention Christ's descent into hell, though they have various modes of explaining it. But it is of little consequence by whom and at what time it was introduced. The chief thing to be attended to in the Creed is, that it furnishes us with a full and every way complete summary of faith, containing nothing but what has been derived from the infallible word of God. But should any still scruple to give it admission into the Creed, it will shortly be made plain, that the place which it holds in a summary of our redemption is so important, that the omission of it greatly detracts from the benefit of Christ's death. There are some again who think that the article contains nothing new, but is merely a repetition in different words of what was previously said respecting burial, the word Hell (Infernis) being often used in Scripture for sepulchre. I admit the truth of what they allege with regard to the not infrequent use of the term infernos for sepulchre; but I cannot adopt their opinion, for two obvious reasons. First, What folly would it have been, after explaining a matter attended with no difficulty in clear and unambiguous terms, afterwards to involve rather than illustrate it by clothing it in obscure phraseology? When two expressions having the same meaning are placed together, the latter ought to be explanatory of the former. But what kind of explanation would it be to say, the expression, "Christ was buried", means, that "he descended into hell"? My second reason is the improbability that a superfluous tautology of this description should have crept into this compendium, in which the principal articles of faith are set down summarily in the fewest possible number of words. I have no doubt that all who weigh the matter with some degree of care will here agree with me.
"9. Others interpret differently, viz., That Christ descended to the souls of the Patriarchs who died under the law, to announce his accomplished redemption, and bring them out of the prison in which they were confined. To this effect they wrest the passage in the Psalms "He has broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder." (Ps. 107: 16;) and also the passage in Zechariah, "I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water," (Zech. 9: 11.) But since the psalm foretells the deliverance of those who were held captive in distant lands, and Zechariah comparing the Babylonish disaster into which the people had been plunged to a deep dry well or abyss, at the same time declares, that the salvation of the whole Church was an escape from a profound pit, I know not how it comes to pass, that posterity imagined it to be a subterraneous cavern, to which they gave the name of Limbus. Though this fable has the countenance of great authors, and is now also seriously defended by many as truth, it is nothing but a fable. To conclude from it that the souls of the dead are in prison is childish. And what occasion was there that the soul of Christ should go down thither to set them at liberty? I readily admit that Christ illumined them by the power of his Spirit, enabling them to perceive that the grace of which they had only had a foretaste was then manifested to the world. And to this not improbably the passage of Peter may be applied, wherein he says, that Christ "went and preached to the spirits that were in prison," (or rather "a watch-tower,") (I Pet. 3: 19.) The purport of the context is, that believers who had died before that time were partakers of the same grace with ourselves: for he celebrates the power of Christ's death, in that he penetrated even to the dead, pious souls obtaining an immediate view of that visitation for which they had anxiously waited; while, on the other hand, the reprobate were more clearly convinced that they were completely excluded from salvation. Although the passage in Peter is not perfectly definite, we must not interpret as if he made no distinction between the righteous and the wicked: he only means to intimate, that the death of Christ was made known to both.
"10. But, apart from the Creed, we must seek for a surer exposition of Christ's descent to hell: and the word of God furnishes us with one not only pious and holy, but replete with excellent consolation. Nothing had been done if Christ had only endured corporeal death. In order to interpose between us and God's anger, and satisfy his righteous judgement, it was necessary that he should feel the weight of divine vengeance. Whence also it was necessary that he should engage, as it were, at close quarters with the powers of hell and the horrors of eternal death. We lately quoted from the Prophet, that the "chastisement of our peace was laid upon him" that he "was bruised for our iniquities" that he "bore our infirmities;" expressions which intimate, that, like a sponsor and surety for the guilty, and, as it were, subjected to condemnation, he undertook and paid all the penalties which must have been exacted from them, the only exception being, that the pains of death could not hold him. Hence there is nothing strange in its being said that he descended to hell, seeing he endured the death which is inflicted on the wicked by an angry God. It is frivolous and ridiculous to object that in this way the order is perverted, it being absurd that an event which preceded burial should be placed after it. But after explaining what Christ endured in the sight of man, the Creed appropriately adds the invisible and incomprehensible judgement which he endured before God, to teach us that not only was the body of Christ given up as the price of redemption, but that there was a greater and more excellent price - that he bore in his soul the tortures of condemned and ruined man." [Boldface added]
My opinion, for whatever little it is worth, is that Calvin has the better argument, much the better argument.
Gleason L. Archer, Jr., approaches the question in Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties by noting that Jesus told the repentant thief that "today you will be with Me in paradise." But, Archer asks, was it not only after Jesus arose that He ascended to heaven? Archer goes on as follows:
The answer lies in the location of 'paradise'.
Apparently paradise was not exalted to heaven until Easter Day. Jesus apparently refers to it in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus as "Abraham's Bosom," to which the godly beggar Lazarus was carried by the angels after his decease (Luke 16:19-31). Thus "Abraham's Bosom" referred to the place where the souls of the redeemed waited till the day of Christ's resurrection. Presumably this was the same place as paradise. It was not yet lifted up to heaven but it may well have been a section of hades [reference to the Hebrew word for Hades omitted], reserved for believers who died in the faith but who would not be admitted into the glorious presence of God in heaven until the price of redemption had been actually paid on Calvary.
Doubtless is was to the infernal paradise that the souls of Jesus and the repentant thief repaired after they each died on Friday afternoon. But then on Easter Sunday, after the risen Christ had first appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 20:17) and her two companions (Matt. 28:9), presumably he took up with Him to glory all the inhabitants of infernal paradise (including Abraham, Lazarus, and the repentant thief). We read in Ephesians 4:8 concerning Christ: "Ascending on high, He led captivity captive: He gave gifts unto men." Verse 9 continues: "But what does 'He ascended' mean but that He also descended to the lowers parts of the earth?"-i.e., to hades. Verse 10 adds: "He who descended is the same as He who ascended above all the heavens." Presumably He led the whole band of liberated captives from hades (i.e., the whole population of preresurrection paradise) up to the glory of the highest heaven, the abode of the Triune God.
Archer has allies in the Eastern Church. The following is from the The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church (Moscow, 1839, as quoted in Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, V. II):
"213. What should we think of the state in which Jesus Christ was after his death, and before his resurrection?
"This is described in the following hymn of the Church: In the grave as to the flesh, in hades with thy soul, as God, in paradise with the thief, and on the throne were thou, O Christ, together with the Father and the Spirit, filling all things, thyself uncircumscribed.
"214. What is hades or hell?
"Hades is a Greek word, and means a place "void of light." In divinity, by this name is understood a spiritual prison, that is, the state of those spirits which are separated by sin from the sight of God's countenance, and from the light and blessedness which it confers.
"215. Wherefore did Jesus Christ descend into hell?
"To the end that he might there also preach his victory over death, and deliver the souls which with faith awaited his coming.
"216. Does holy Scripture speak of this?
"It is referred to in the following passage: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he may bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quikened in the spirit; in which also he want and preached uto the spirits in prison." 1 Pet. iii 18, 19."
But what of the Reformers? John Calvin, at least, would disagree with Archer, the Eastern Church, and others. In his Institutes, the following in Book 2, Chapter 16:
"8. Here we must not omit the descent to hell, which was of no little importance to the accomplishment of redemption. For although it is apparent from the writings of the ancient Fathers, that the clause which now stands in the Creed was not formerly so much used in the churches, still, in giving a summary of doctrine, a place must be assigned to it, as containing a matter of great importance which ought not by any means to be disregarded. Indeed, some of the ancient Fathers do not omit it, and hence we may conjecture, that having been inserted in the Creed after a considerable lapse of time, it came into use in the Church not immediately but by degrees. This much is uncontroverted, that it was in accordance with the general sentiment of all believers, since there is none of the Fathers who does not mention Christ's descent into hell, though they have various modes of explaining it. But it is of little consequence by whom and at what time it was introduced. The chief thing to be attended to in the Creed is, that it furnishes us with a full and every way complete summary of faith, containing nothing but what has been derived from the infallible word of God. But should any still scruple to give it admission into the Creed, it will shortly be made plain, that the place which it holds in a summary of our redemption is so important, that the omission of it greatly detracts from the benefit of Christ's death. There are some again who think that the article contains nothing new, but is merely a repetition in different words of what was previously said respecting burial, the word Hell (Infernis) being often used in Scripture for sepulchre. I admit the truth of what they allege with regard to the not infrequent use of the term infernos for sepulchre; but I cannot adopt their opinion, for two obvious reasons. First, What folly would it have been, after explaining a matter attended with no difficulty in clear and unambiguous terms, afterwards to involve rather than illustrate it by clothing it in obscure phraseology? When two expressions having the same meaning are placed together, the latter ought to be explanatory of the former. But what kind of explanation would it be to say, the expression, "Christ was buried", means, that "he descended into hell"? My second reason is the improbability that a superfluous tautology of this description should have crept into this compendium, in which the principal articles of faith are set down summarily in the fewest possible number of words. I have no doubt that all who weigh the matter with some degree of care will here agree with me.
"9. Others interpret differently, viz., That Christ descended to the souls of the Patriarchs who died under the law, to announce his accomplished redemption, and bring them out of the prison in which they were confined. To this effect they wrest the passage in the Psalms "He has broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder." (Ps. 107: 16;) and also the passage in Zechariah, "I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water," (Zech. 9: 11.) But since the psalm foretells the deliverance of those who were held captive in distant lands, and Zechariah comparing the Babylonish disaster into which the people had been plunged to a deep dry well or abyss, at the same time declares, that the salvation of the whole Church was an escape from a profound pit, I know not how it comes to pass, that posterity imagined it to be a subterraneous cavern, to which they gave the name of Limbus. Though this fable has the countenance of great authors, and is now also seriously defended by many as truth, it is nothing but a fable. To conclude from it that the souls of the dead are in prison is childish. And what occasion was there that the soul of Christ should go down thither to set them at liberty? I readily admit that Christ illumined them by the power of his Spirit, enabling them to perceive that the grace of which they had only had a foretaste was then manifested to the world. And to this not improbably the passage of Peter may be applied, wherein he says, that Christ "went and preached to the spirits that were in prison," (or rather "a watch-tower,") (I Pet. 3: 19.) The purport of the context is, that believers who had died before that time were partakers of the same grace with ourselves: for he celebrates the power of Christ's death, in that he penetrated even to the dead, pious souls obtaining an immediate view of that visitation for which they had anxiously waited; while, on the other hand, the reprobate were more clearly convinced that they were completely excluded from salvation. Although the passage in Peter is not perfectly definite, we must not interpret as if he made no distinction between the righteous and the wicked: he only means to intimate, that the death of Christ was made known to both.
"10. But, apart from the Creed, we must seek for a surer exposition of Christ's descent to hell: and the word of God furnishes us with one not only pious and holy, but replete with excellent consolation. Nothing had been done if Christ had only endured corporeal death. In order to interpose between us and God's anger, and satisfy his righteous judgement, it was necessary that he should feel the weight of divine vengeance. Whence also it was necessary that he should engage, as it were, at close quarters with the powers of hell and the horrors of eternal death. We lately quoted from the Prophet, that the "chastisement of our peace was laid upon him" that he "was bruised for our iniquities" that he "bore our infirmities;" expressions which intimate, that, like a sponsor and surety for the guilty, and, as it were, subjected to condemnation, he undertook and paid all the penalties which must have been exacted from them, the only exception being, that the pains of death could not hold him. Hence there is nothing strange in its being said that he descended to hell, seeing he endured the death which is inflicted on the wicked by an angry God. It is frivolous and ridiculous to object that in this way the order is perverted, it being absurd that an event which preceded burial should be placed after it. But after explaining what Christ endured in the sight of man, the Creed appropriately adds the invisible and incomprehensible judgement which he endured before God, to teach us that not only was the body of Christ given up as the price of redemption, but that there was a greater and more excellent price - that he bore in his soul the tortures of condemned and ruined man." [Boldface added]
My opinion, for whatever little it is worth, is that Calvin has the better argument, much the better argument.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Income Tax Withholding Matters
Take a look at this article in the Miami Herald that came out Tuesday about income tax withholding
The article states that one of the “Stimulus” bills that Congress passed will result in a new withholding schedule effective April 1. It may result in less being withheld from your paycheck. The article warns, however, that you may be among those who will, as a result, “under-withhold” and that you should be concerned about that.
The article refers to an on-line withholding calculator, but the website address the article gives is incorrect. Here is where you should start on the IRS website.
Thanks to Carol for bringing this to my attention.
The article states that one of the “Stimulus” bills that Congress passed will result in a new withholding schedule effective April 1. It may result in less being withheld from your paycheck. The article warns, however, that you may be among those who will, as a result, “under-withhold” and that you should be concerned about that.
The article refers to an on-line withholding calculator, but the website address the article gives is incorrect. Here is where you should start on the IRS website.
Thanks to Carol for bringing this to my attention.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Top Books on Military History
Tom Ricks' list, at least. (But is Catch 22 "military history?"). Thanks, Glenn Reynolds.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Weekend in Philadelphia
Friday morning Carol and I flew up to Philadelphia to visit Mary. After we landed, we took a train north from the airport into the city and the 30th Street Station. We transferred to a train that went west out of the city to Rosemont, and then walked through a driving rain to Mary's apartment building about two suburban blocks south of the station. (We had our umbrellas, so no real problem). We were there, snug in her apartment, when she came home from school about 2 PM.
About the time we arrived at Mary's apartment building, the weather cleared and the sun came out. So after she came home, Mary drove us the two miles over to Bryn Mawr College, and gave us a tour of the science building, her real home-away-from home, and the rest of the lovely campus.
Spring was just at the threshold of bursting forth there, and several trees had already bloomed. The first photo is of Mary and Carol in front of one of these harbinger trees after we came out of the science building. The second photo is of Taylor Hall, one of the main buildings of the college.
The lawns, well watered from the rain and a deep green, the flower beds freshly mulched with the leaves of tulip and other bulbs popping up and soon to flower, and the old stone, neo-gothic buildings of the campus rising up from all this promise made a very pleasant sight. We walked by student guides and their charges, young women, apparently high school seniors, who seemed to be giving the place one last look before deciding whether to come next fall. The season favors a positive decision.
From there we drove a mile or less to Ardmore, another of the little towns that seem to overlap one another along the "Main Line," where there is some serious shopping available. As Carol and Mary enjoyed themselves (buying after all very little), I sat in a plaza surrounded by J. Crew, Talbot's, a vest pocket Macy's, and the like, watching a Robin for about 15 minutes look around another freshly mulched flower bed for a worm with no success.
The shoppers rejoined me, and we walked about a block to "Trader Joe's," a sort of toned down Whole Foods and a favorite grocery store of Mary. From there, we went around the corner to "the Farmer's Market," where we ended up buying supper on a take-out basis. This was an interesting place - the vendors inside the Farmer's Market manned 21st Century "stalls" or "stands" (which words do not come near to describing how classy these points of sale are). There was a Mennonite bakery, although we successfully resisted the temptation to load up, a wine vendor, an Asian food stand, where we bought some talapia and a tofu dish, an Italian stand, where we bought some potatoes (we were eating eclectic that night), and several other places that made us hungrier and hungrier. So with our haul we quickly went back to Mary's apartment, which was already redolent with some bread she had baked for our visit, and had supper. We topped it all off with a trip back across the street to a McDonald's for their 1$ caramel sundaes - a dessert tradition that we first adopted on our trips to Spain.
The next morning we were up fairly promptly, and Mary made her very strong, Kenya edition of cafe con leche for herself and me. She had thoughtfully bought Muesli for Carol's breakfast, and there was oatmeal and yogurt, all with bananas and blueberries and, of course, the homemade bread. Yum.
Then, as we had planned, we took off for the Valley Forge National Historic Park, which is part of the National Park Service. This, of course, is the site of the "encampment" of Washington's Continental Army which began in December 1777 and continued until the spring of 1778. It is a sprawling park, but has a good visitors center, and an exhibit where several very small log cabins have been built, replicating over 1000 of such shelters that the soldiers built for the winter. We learned that the winter, while cold - was moderate for Pennsylvania, and that the army, while tested during the winter, emerged transformed by the training they received from Von Stueben, fresh arms from France, and the encouraging news that France had come into the war on the side of the Colonials.
Two of the three park rangers who gave talks were very good, and one of them gave some interesting detail about how the cannon and muskets were used to devastating effect. I asked this gentleman for some recommendations on further reading about the Continental Army, and he suggested two books, Joseph Plumb Martin's A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier, and Charles Roster's, A Revolutionary People at War.
The third photo is of Mary and me in front of the visitor's center, and the fourth is of the National Memorial Arch that was dedicated in 1917, commemorating the "patience and fidelity" of the soldiers who wintered there in 1777-1778.
On the way back from Valley Forge, we made a quick stop at King of Prussia Mall (by then, we understood why there would be a place named "King of Prussia" in that locale, for he had been a friend to the Colonials), and then home to Mary's apartment to rest and to put the finishing touches on the plans for the evening. Those touches mainly involved Mary and Carol studying the guide books for a good place for dinner in the city, not too far from the Kimmel Center, where we had tickets that night to attend a concert of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
They came up with an Indian restaurant, Lovash, and it proved to have delicious food and was moderately priced. There were all sorts of off-beat shops and other restaurants in the Lovash neighborhood, and there were lots of people, from the plainly tourist to 1980s grunge types - it reminded me a bit of Ybor City in Tampa.
After that it was off to Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts where the Philadelphia Orchestra performed under the direction that night of Andre Previn. Mary had asked me what we should expect to hear from the PO in relation to our friend the New World Symphony. I told her that we should be able to hear quite a difference, even though we enjoy the New World. Although we expected to hear something better, we were simply stunned at the quality of the orchestra, especially on the Mozart piano concerto. (Piano Concerto No. 24, K. 491 - click "System One," then scroll down to Piano Concertos)
Andre Previn, who turns 80 this year, seemed quite feeble as he approached the piano (for the Mozart) and then, after intermission, the podium for Strauss's Symphonia Domestica, but he carried it all off with strength and aplomb. We sat in the orchestra section, not that far from the stage, and you could see on the faces of the musicians how much they were enjoying Previn and how they connected with him. We all enjoyed it!
The next morning, we attended City Line Church, and heard a fine sermon on 2 Corin. 12:1-10, from the pastor, Steve Kim, and met some of Mary's friends who also attend there. For lunch, we went to a burrito fast food place and then back to the apartment to relax. At about 4 Mary walked us to the train station, and we back-tracked to the airport and then home by about 9:30PM Sunday night.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Dad Just Has to Brag
Poor Mary. She's been slogging through Chemistry these many months. She finds Biology fascinating and Physics, well Physics, is "just math," at least to Mary. And we know how Mary handles math.
But Chemistry, ugh.
I hated Chemistry at Duke, and the two Freshman Chem courses at Duke were the only courses in which I got a C. So I have been sympathising with Mary these past several months, as she complained about the Chem courses in her program. I sympathized as only a loving and completely understanding father can. Until she just now sent me this update:
Well, apparently I had a very good Chemistry week last week, as I got a 95 on my 2-day test extravaganza (the class average was a 74--guess I didn't help that curve), and a 99 on my last lab report.
Did I mention Carol got two A+s in Freshmen Chemistry at Duke?
But Chemistry, ugh.
I hated Chemistry at Duke, and the two Freshman Chem courses at Duke were the only courses in which I got a C. So I have been sympathising with Mary these past several months, as she complained about the Chem courses in her program. I sympathized as only a loving and completely understanding father can. Until she just now sent me this update:
Well, apparently I had a very good Chemistry week last week, as I got a 95 on my 2-day test extravaganza (the class average was a 74--guess I didn't help that curve), and a 99 on my last lab report.
Did I mention Carol got two A+s in Freshmen Chemistry at Duke?
Aunt Ann a G.L.O.W. Honoree
Our Aunt Ann is among 18 Georgia women honored by the Georgia Legislature as "outstanding". We've known that for many, many years, but it's good to know that this has become generally known. Among her many gifts is running the Dodge Hill Inn in Eastman, GA, where we have had simply wonderful visits.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Yellow Tababouia Tree and Orchid
On the left is the Yellow Tababouia tree to the west of our house. It is about a week after the blooms burst forth; just a few days after it's prime, and you can see the blooms on the ground. It's spectacular, though, even past its peak.
I took a close-up shot of a bunch of blooms still on the tree.
To the right of the Tababouia Tree, you can see the Sea Grape Tree that is outside our dining room window. Last year I put a little orchid in the the crook of its trunk, after it had bloomed in the reception room of our office, and it was blooming again last weekend. It's really hard to grow these things here. It takes a lot of effort to wedge the plastic pot in the tree and tape it there with clear masking tape until the roots grow out of the pot and grasp the trunk. But someone has to do it, and that, of course, would be me.
I took a close-up shot of a bunch of blooms still on the tree.
To the right of the Tababouia Tree, you can see the Sea Grape Tree that is outside our dining room window. Last year I put a little orchid in the the crook of its trunk, after it had bloomed in the reception room of our office, and it was blooming again last weekend. It's really hard to grow these things here. It takes a lot of effort to wedge the plastic pot in the tree and tape it there with clear masking tape until the roots grow out of the pot and grasp the trunk. But someone has to do it, and that, of course, would be me.
But, John, How Do You Really Feel About What Floats Our Boats?
Our end in leaving our native country [for Georgia] was not to avoid want (God having given us plenty of temporal blessings) nor to gain the dung or dross of riches or honor; but singly this - to save our souls, to live wholly to the glory of God. [Boldface added]
-John Wesley, from his Journal, Oct. 14, 1735.
-John Wesley, from his Journal, Oct. 14, 1735.
Cutie Clippies
Did you see that Kellsey started her own business? Cutie Clippies!
You'd think starting an online business was in her blood, or something.
Also: I think that some of her clippies are so cool that I wish I could get away with wearing them.
You'd think starting an online business was in her blood, or something.
Also: I think that some of her clippies are so cool that I wish I could get away with wearing them.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Say It Ain't So!
Duke is dominated by Villanova.
Yahoo Sports’s Dan Wetzel wonders what’s happened to Duke. “The Blue Devils are no longer the Blue Devils,” Wetzel writes. “They’re just another good program. Good, not great. They don’t have what Duke is accustomed to having. They haven’t for years. When they get into the grown-men rounds of the NCAA tournament, they don’t stand a chance.”
Cry, and you cry alone.
Or something.
Yahoo Sports’s Dan Wetzel wonders what’s happened to Duke. “The Blue Devils are no longer the Blue Devils,” Wetzel writes. “They’re just another good program. Good, not great. They don’t have what Duke is accustomed to having. They haven’t for years. When they get into the grown-men rounds of the NCAA tournament, they don’t stand a chance.”
Cry, and you cry alone.
Or something.
Obortion
Yesterday evening I was caught in rush hour traffic, going south on US 1 and heading for the board meeting of the local Youth for Christ organization. The south part of the county is the more prosperous half, and the automobiles are mostly late model and many are expensive. I saw a number of Obama stickers on these cars.
I pulled up at a traffic light behind a car with an Obama sticker, and I saw, hanging from the rear view mirror, a Rosary. What in the world did that mean? Is the professional looking driver a Christian? A Roman Catholic? Or are those beads some sort of superstitious trinket, hanging there to ward off accidents and traffic tickets? Maybe the driver really struggled with Obama's views on abortion, on the one hand, and the less lethal and more promising aspects of his candidacy, on the other, but gave in.
With regard to human life itself, "change" with our new Administration meant, within hours after the inauguration, reversing the previous administration's pro-life policies. Putting aside the disastrous budget decisions that the new President and Congress have made so far, shall we focus for a moment on how many unborn babies have been killed since he began?
I pulled up at a traffic light behind a car with an Obama sticker, and I saw, hanging from the rear view mirror, a Rosary. What in the world did that mean? Is the professional looking driver a Christian? A Roman Catholic? Or are those beads some sort of superstitious trinket, hanging there to ward off accidents and traffic tickets? Maybe the driver really struggled with Obama's views on abortion, on the one hand, and the less lethal and more promising aspects of his candidacy, on the other, but gave in.
With regard to human life itself, "change" with our new Administration meant, within hours after the inauguration, reversing the previous administration's pro-life policies. Putting aside the disastrous budget decisions that the new President and Congress have made so far, shall we focus for a moment on how many unborn babies have been killed since he began?
The Herald Celebrates "Diversity"
The Herald this week gave a lot of ink to a play by a local playright, Michael McKeever' Melt. A one-time performance at Guzman Center for the Performing Arts was attended by students and their parents. The play purports to be about the melting-pot of cultures in Miami-Dade:
McKeever's Miamians span South Florida's myriad cultures: a Cuban-American seamstress who was a Pedro Pan child and her son, a slick operator who works in real estate; an older Jewish man, whose wife left him, and his son, a gay high school teacher who wants to adopt a child; the teacher's partner, a black nurse who is unsure about fatherhood; and the nurse's sister, a lawyer and activist who wants to stop real estate developers from displacing lower-income Miamians.
That's it? That's Miami? I've only lived here 63 years, less a few years away at college and law school, and this is not what I see. But beyond that, it amazes me to read that the Miami Chamber of Commerce helped sponsor this event, where, if the description I have quoted is accurate, business people are described as "slick" or predatory; the only marriage featured is a broken one, the only family a single mom, the only professionals, community "activists," the only intact adult relationship, homosexual, and the only reference to fatherhood, a tentative and exceedingly doubtful one.
Beyond the C of C, what were the parents thinking who took their children to see this thing?
McKeever's Miamians span South Florida's myriad cultures: a Cuban-American seamstress who was a Pedro Pan child and her son, a slick operator who works in real estate; an older Jewish man, whose wife left him, and his son, a gay high school teacher who wants to adopt a child; the teacher's partner, a black nurse who is unsure about fatherhood; and the nurse's sister, a lawyer and activist who wants to stop real estate developers from displacing lower-income Miamians.
That's it? That's Miami? I've only lived here 63 years, less a few years away at college and law school, and this is not what I see. But beyond that, it amazes me to read that the Miami Chamber of Commerce helped sponsor this event, where, if the description I have quoted is accurate, business people are described as "slick" or predatory; the only marriage featured is a broken one, the only family a single mom, the only professionals, community "activists," the only intact adult relationship, homosexual, and the only reference to fatherhood, a tentative and exceedingly doubtful one.
Beyond the C of C, what were the parents thinking who took their children to see this thing?
Teaching Toys
The current generation featured here. There were a couple of good ones we used, although none of them so automated as these. We kept looking for the "clean-up-your room" teaching toy, but never found one.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Finishing Strong!
A Gator friend of mine, not a Christian, sent me the following email:
Finishing Strong!
A true story shared by Tim Tebow at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes annual dinner on Thursday, February 12, 2009. And, a follow up story shared by Urban Meyer!
During the 2008 NCAA Football Season the National Championship University of Florida football team faced many challenges. Everyone remembers the passionate speech quarterback Tim Tebow delivered after the mid-season 1 point loss to Mississippi. The team morphed into a better, more cohesive and stronger unit. The theme for the team became FINISH STRONG!
During the 4th Quarter of the SEC Championship game, facing the #1 Ranked Alabama Crimson Tide without star running back/receiver Percy Harvin and behind on the scoreboard, Tim Tebow and the Florida offensive team rallied on the sidelines and passionately committed to FINISH STRONG as they went out and scored the winning touchdown in dominating fashion. They FINISHED STRONG!
During the 4th Quarter of the National Championship game, facing the #1 Ranked Oklahoma Sooners and the most dominant high powered offense in the history of college football, the defensive team…special team…and the Tebow led offensive team rallied on the sideline and passionately committed to FINISH STRONG as they went out and shut down the Oklahoma offense and then s cored the winning touchdown to secure the win.
Once again…they FINISHED STRONG!
Tim Tebow spoke about those games and compared them to the game of life. We face many opportunities to make good decisions and to passionately pursue many different goals in life. Most of us pursue them passionately and many of us successfully achieve those goals. But when we don’t achieve those goals…are you able to say that you FINISHED STRONG? In life, as we move toward our destination, are you going to feel good about your answers to the following questions that ultimately are waiting for you: Did you do enough? Did you do too little? Did you finish strong?
The guy who wears number 15 and accessorizes with a ‘red cape’ finished his testimonial after dinner with the following story:
A day or so before the national championship game God touched his heart with a message…Tim needed to change the message on his black eye liner that he wears when he is playing. All year he had a reference to Phillipians 4:13 on the eye liner which represented the following: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. He talked to four or five others about switching the message and everyone except his parents told him not to do it because they had been so successful all year with the Phillipians 4:13. His parents, Pam and Bob Tebow, supported the change and Tim knew it was the right thing to do. He played the=2 0championship game with John 3:16 on the eye liner which represents the following: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
We all know the outcome of the game, but the phone call that Tim received a couple of days later when he was back in Gainesville was nothing short of unbelievable. Tim answered his cell phone and it was the P.R. guy for the UF Football game. He said, “You set a record.” Tim wondered what kind of record was he talking about. “In the 24 hour period from the start of the championship game, JOHN 3:16 was Googled…93 MILLION times! No other topic had ever been Googled that many times in a 24 hour period of time.”
Follow up story from Urban Meyer, Coach of the 2008 National Champion University Florida football team:
As Coach Meyer was introduced next, he looked out at the 400 attendees and said, “How do you follow that?” as he referred to Tim’s testimonial.
Coach Meyer then shared a few stories and then introduced his last story with the following introduction:
We all hear about the incredible family Tim is a part of. With ever ything going on in the world, you just know there is no way Pam and Bob Tebow can be as perfect as they are made out to be.
I am here to tell you I witnessed the most amazing conversation which is the truest testimonial to how incredibly good the Tebows truly are.
A few days after the championship game I sat at a table in the back of the Ballyhoo restaurant with Tim, Pam and Bob Tebow. It was just the four of us and I listened in amazement as Tim’s future about moving to the next level of football was decided. Unbelievably, the NFL was never once mentioned. Tim’s dad started the conversation by saying that Brett Farve spoke about his faith and no one ever listened. Here was a future Hall of Fame quarterback and no one heard his message. Tim then said…”I can think of 93 million reasons why I would want to stay in school and play my senior year at the University of Florida.”
That’s how the decision was made.
Which platform would provide Tim with the best opportunity to share the word of God? As you now know, playing his senior year for the University of Florida would be that choice.
And, is there any doubt about Tim’s passionate commitment to FINISH STRONG?
Finishing Strong!
A true story shared by Tim Tebow at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes annual dinner on Thursday, February 12, 2009. And, a follow up story shared by Urban Meyer!
During the 2008 NCAA Football Season the National Championship University of Florida football team faced many challenges. Everyone remembers the passionate speech quarterback Tim Tebow delivered after the mid-season 1 point loss to Mississippi. The team morphed into a better, more cohesive and stronger unit. The theme for the team became FINISH STRONG!
During the 4th Quarter of the SEC Championship game, facing the #1 Ranked Alabama Crimson Tide without star running back/receiver Percy Harvin and behind on the scoreboard, Tim Tebow and the Florida offensive team rallied on the sidelines and passionately committed to FINISH STRONG as they went out and scored the winning touchdown in dominating fashion. They FINISHED STRONG!
During the 4th Quarter of the National Championship game, facing the #1 Ranked Oklahoma Sooners and the most dominant high powered offense in the history of college football, the defensive team…special team…and the Tebow led offensive team rallied on the sideline and passionately committed to FINISH STRONG as they went out and shut down the Oklahoma offense and then s cored the winning touchdown to secure the win.
Once again…they FINISHED STRONG!
Tim Tebow spoke about those games and compared them to the game of life. We face many opportunities to make good decisions and to passionately pursue many different goals in life. Most of us pursue them passionately and many of us successfully achieve those goals. But when we don’t achieve those goals…are you able to say that you FINISHED STRONG? In life, as we move toward our destination, are you going to feel good about your answers to the following questions that ultimately are waiting for you: Did you do enough? Did you do too little? Did you finish strong?
The guy who wears number 15 and accessorizes with a ‘red cape’ finished his testimonial after dinner with the following story:
A day or so before the national championship game God touched his heart with a message…Tim needed to change the message on his black eye liner that he wears when he is playing. All year he had a reference to Phillipians 4:13 on the eye liner which represented the following: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. He talked to four or five others about switching the message and everyone except his parents told him not to do it because they had been so successful all year with the Phillipians 4:13. His parents, Pam and Bob Tebow, supported the change and Tim knew it was the right thing to do. He played the=2 0championship game with John 3:16 on the eye liner which represents the following: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
We all know the outcome of the game, but the phone call that Tim received a couple of days later when he was back in Gainesville was nothing short of unbelievable. Tim answered his cell phone and it was the P.R. guy for the UF Football game. He said, “You set a record.” Tim wondered what kind of record was he talking about. “In the 24 hour period from the start of the championship game, JOHN 3:16 was Googled…93 MILLION times! No other topic had ever been Googled that many times in a 24 hour period of time.”
Follow up story from Urban Meyer, Coach of the 2008 National Champion University Florida football team:
As Coach Meyer was introduced next, he looked out at the 400 attendees and said, “How do you follow that?” as he referred to Tim’s testimonial.
Coach Meyer then shared a few stories and then introduced his last story with the following introduction:
We all hear about the incredible family Tim is a part of. With ever ything going on in the world, you just know there is no way Pam and Bob Tebow can be as perfect as they are made out to be.
I am here to tell you I witnessed the most amazing conversation which is the truest testimonial to how incredibly good the Tebows truly are.
A few days after the championship game I sat at a table in the back of the Ballyhoo restaurant with Tim, Pam and Bob Tebow. It was just the four of us and I listened in amazement as Tim’s future about moving to the next level of football was decided. Unbelievably, the NFL was never once mentioned. Tim’s dad started the conversation by saying that Brett Farve spoke about his faith and no one ever listened. Here was a future Hall of Fame quarterback and no one heard his message. Tim then said…”I can think of 93 million reasons why I would want to stay in school and play my senior year at the University of Florida.”
That’s how the decision was made.
Which platform would provide Tim with the best opportunity to share the word of God? As you now know, playing his senior year for the University of Florida would be that choice.
And, is there any doubt about Tim’s passionate commitment to FINISH STRONG?
Hoping that People Come to Geithner's Party
On the McLaughlin Group Friday night, one of the commentators closed the circle for me on the sub-prime issue. He said that the developing nations, particularly the Chinese, had nowhere to put the huge stash of US dollars that they had made from global trade and the US consumer. The answers to their dilemma were the sub-prime loan packages, investments enabled by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and guaranteed either by the US government implicitly or by "insurance" from AIG explicitly. These packages fed the hunger overseas for a "safe" US investment that paid a good return. (Thus, much of the money the government has paid to AIG has gone overseas to pay-off insurance claims made in respect of these "toxic" investments, for we really would like the world to continue to invest in the US.)
Treasury Secretary Geithner describes his "Public-Private Investment Program" on the Op-Ed page of the WSJ this morning, and it's worth reading. It strikes at the heart of the sub-prime loan problem. The heart of the problem is this: What in the world are the sub-prime loan packages worth?
The government has been afraid to get out of the way and let the market place determine that question, because it believes that the process of allowing the market to make that determination will devastate the economies of the world. Furthermore, powerful people in government are afraid that blame for the devastation will be traced back to them. If, then, they can simply "manage" the problem, maybe they can avoid being held accountable. But this is obviously not working. The economies of the world are under great stress, and I believe that citizens are beginning to figure out how unclean are the hands of the people in Washington who purport to be telling us how they are going to solve the problem.
The Geithner proposal allows for the market place to get back into the valuation process. And maybe we will see whether these loans are worth anything. My guess is that there is value there. The question is whether investors in the private sector will be able to develop useful notions of value and, then, will come to the Secretary's party. Congress is not helping by threatening to abrogate the laws of contract, nor the President by proposing economic policies that will lead to massive inflation and tax policies that will take away rewards for risk-taking. But I suppose the market can even discount for those problems. So we'll see if anyone bites on the Secretary's proposal.
UPDATE: The Market likes the plan. So far. The front-page headline in the WSJ today (3/24) is "Toxic-Asset Plan Sends Stocks Soaring."
Treasury Secretary Geithner describes his "Public-Private Investment Program" on the Op-Ed page of the WSJ this morning, and it's worth reading. It strikes at the heart of the sub-prime loan problem. The heart of the problem is this: What in the world are the sub-prime loan packages worth?
The government has been afraid to get out of the way and let the market place determine that question, because it believes that the process of allowing the market to make that determination will devastate the economies of the world. Furthermore, powerful people in government are afraid that blame for the devastation will be traced back to them. If, then, they can simply "manage" the problem, maybe they can avoid being held accountable. But this is obviously not working. The economies of the world are under great stress, and I believe that citizens are beginning to figure out how unclean are the hands of the people in Washington who purport to be telling us how they are going to solve the problem.
The Geithner proposal allows for the market place to get back into the valuation process. And maybe we will see whether these loans are worth anything. My guess is that there is value there. The question is whether investors in the private sector will be able to develop useful notions of value and, then, will come to the Secretary's party. Congress is not helping by threatening to abrogate the laws of contract, nor the President by proposing economic policies that will lead to massive inflation and tax policies that will take away rewards for risk-taking. But I suppose the market can even discount for those problems. So we'll see if anyone bites on the Secretary's proposal.
UPDATE: The Market likes the plan. So far. The front-page headline in the WSJ today (3/24) is "Toxic-Asset Plan Sends Stocks Soaring."
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Consumer-Driven Health Care
The Swiss consumer-driven health-care system spends 40 percent less than the U.S., as a percentage of GDP, and achieves universal coverage and world-class quality results.
-Regina Herzlinger, author of Who Killed Health Care?, in an interview in the January 17 issue of World Magazine.
-Regina Herzlinger, author of Who Killed Health Care?, in an interview in the January 17 issue of World Magazine.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Civics 101
The Miami-Dade School District proposed to take 20 percent of the proceeds of all bake-sales, car washes and the like undertaken by school groups such as the marching band and math club. "But facing heat from outraged parents," the Herald reports, "Superintendent Alberto Carvalho backed off the plan . . . , which would have put about $5 million into the district account." Wow, that's a lot of Krispy Kreme Donuts. Wow, that's a lot of chutzpah.
Working on the Income Tax Return Today
TurboTax is simply amazing.
But as I am working through it, I am wondering whether people who are also doing their taxes are thinking about those other people. That is, thinking about those greater people now in Washington (or there recently, but quickly thrown under a bus) who consider themselves above such ordinary things as completing one's tax return as carefully and honestly as one can.
As my father was wont to say in such situations, "Boy, that burns me up!"
But as I am working through it, I am wondering whether people who are also doing their taxes are thinking about those other people. That is, thinking about those greater people now in Washington (or there recently, but quickly thrown under a bus) who consider themselves above such ordinary things as completing one's tax return as carefully and honestly as one can.
As my father was wont to say in such situations, "Boy, that burns me up!"
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Guess Who's Sleeping Here Tonight!
Well, she is NOT actually sleeping, not yet, but I have high hopes that she will sleep here tonight. We would, of course, appreciate any and all prayers that she sleep well, that she STAY in the bed until we go to get her, and that she not roll out while sleeping.
Life never stops, always always going, and my kids always always growing...
UPDATE: She fell asleep around 8:00pm. She woke around 10:30pm, and then at 11:30pm (at which time she said, "Mommy! I deed to blow by dose!" I went upstairs, gave her a kleenex and helped her get settled under the covers again. She slept until 6:25am. Oh, and she did not fall out at all, although she was on top of the covers at the bottom of the bed with her head facing the wrong end when I went in to get her. But, at least she was still in the bed and not on the floor. Woo-hoo!!!!!
The Sprinkler System Project: Repairing PVC Pipe
These photos show three of the types of repairs I made on the pvc pipe in our sprinkler system. In the system that Jack Dewhurst had installed about five years ago and which had been damaged by the workmen who did our renovation, I had to locate and repair a total of eight breaks or simply missing sections in the underground piping.
I located the breaks by starting at the well head. At the well head, there is a valve that divides the water into three zones. I would select a zone, turn on the pump, and then walk along what I knew to be generally the underground path of the pipe until I came to the first break. I knew when I found one, because the ground would be wet at the break or, sometimes, there would be water simply gushing up from the ground into the air, like Old Faithful. I would turn off the pump, and start digging. When I finished that repair, I turned on the pump again and walked the zone further to see where the next break would be, if any, or whether, instead, the sprinklers would all spring into action.
As you can see in the photos, when I found a break I would dig a trench that exposed the pipe section in question. Then I would take a hack saw and cut the damaged portion out or round off the ends of the pipe in place if a section were simply missing.
PVC pipe is easy to work with, as long as it is in an unconfined place. Our system uses 1 1/4 inch pipe, which is no problem at all to handle. Lowe's and Home Depot have the pvc pipe in all sizes and all the common fittings. The pieces glue together easily and quickly with a liquid primer and an adhesive made especially for this work. I have a Black and Decker WorkMate and it provides the portable workbench/holding platform to cut the pipe. (I probably have the first version on the WorkMate, a marvelous invention that Carol gave me 25+ years ago.)
The problem with making these repairs is that the pipe is definitely not in an unconfined place. The first photo indicates the problem.
The basic repair involves cutting out the damaged piece of pipe; cutting the appropriate length of new pipe from replacement stock; priming/gluing a new coupling to each end of the sound pieces; and then fitting the repair piece into place at the exposed ends of the system pipe, one end at a time, after priming/gluing each end of the exposed pipe under repair.
The problem is that the pipe under repair is set in the ground and, like the replacement piece, has very limited flex. There is also very little lateral movement of the pipe in the ground.
The first photo shows the solution in a particular case. I dug the trench up to a nearby elbow and then dug a second trench that followed the 90 degree turn. At the 90 degree turn, I widened the trench so that I could push the pipe section under repair in the direction of the elbow, giving me enough room between each of the pipe ends under repair to slip in my new piece.
The second photo illustrates two problems. Here I did not have a nearby elbow to help me make room for a replacement section. In addition, one section under repair was a break in a 30 long section of pipe that Jack, upon initial installation, had gently flexed to follow the boarder of the front driveway. The plumber who installed the drain line from the new bathroom simply had to remove about a two foot section of that pipe. There was not nearly enough room for the sort of flex one could safely coax from a repair section of pvc. Furthermore, the angle between the exposed ends of the pipe under repair was less than 22 degrees. I could not find an elbow that would help me fit in the replacement section, and the pipe, as usual, had very little horizontal (longitudinal) play, if any at all.
Enter Flexible PVC. I learned about this miracle solution on the internet. I went back to Home Depot and Lowe's which carried flexible pvc, but neither of them had it in the 1 1/4" variety. But a supply house in Nevada had it, and within a week of my order I had a five foot piece in hand. It made an easy fit, as the photo indicates.
At the bottom of the photo you can also see a "T" junction which was completely broken when I dug out this section. Here I had very little room to maneuver, but a fitting called an expansion repair coupling came to the rescue. This coupling has a telescoping feature that will shorten and lengthen the coupling over about 5 inches of play. To install it, you remove about a foot or so of the pipe with the break; then separate the coupling into its two pieces, gluing one piece to each of the ends under repair; and then slide the coupling closed and tighten it. The coupling has a rubber bushing that seals it in water-tight fashion. Amazing. I used several of these.
There are some other repair approaches. For example, if there is simply a small hole, there is a sort of pvc patch that one can paint with the glue and snap around the section of pipe that has the hole. None of the breaks I had were that small. And there is also a compression fitting available, but I couldn't figure out how that was to be used.
As much as the Lowe's and Home Depot people advertise about having experts at hand to help you, I found myself to be pretty much on my own at those places. One bit of irony is that on my very last visit to Lowe's, I came across an instructional CD entitled Sprinkler System Design and Installation. It was very inexpensive and I bought it, but I'm not sure I want to see it. (I shouldn't say I was on my own. Carol often went with me on my shopping expeditions. She became quite knowledgeable after several visits, and she had the patience to sort through the various boxes at Lowe's and Home Depot that often were either wrongly labled or had the wrong parts mixed up in them.) (Rain Bird has an instructional video on sale at its website.)
The other renovation job I asked our contractor to come back and fix is the driveway itself. We have an old fashioned asphalt, circular drive. What we would like to have are "pavers," that is, a driveway of bricks that are laid cobblestone fashion and can look very nice. The contractor is nowhere in sight.
Let me see, what should I do . . . ? Now that would be a project!
I located the breaks by starting at the well head. At the well head, there is a valve that divides the water into three zones. I would select a zone, turn on the pump, and then walk along what I knew to be generally the underground path of the pipe until I came to the first break. I knew when I found one, because the ground would be wet at the break or, sometimes, there would be water simply gushing up from the ground into the air, like Old Faithful. I would turn off the pump, and start digging. When I finished that repair, I turned on the pump again and walked the zone further to see where the next break would be, if any, or whether, instead, the sprinklers would all spring into action.
As you can see in the photos, when I found a break I would dig a trench that exposed the pipe section in question. Then I would take a hack saw and cut the damaged portion out or round off the ends of the pipe in place if a section were simply missing.
PVC pipe is easy to work with, as long as it is in an unconfined place. Our system uses 1 1/4 inch pipe, which is no problem at all to handle. Lowe's and Home Depot have the pvc pipe in all sizes and all the common fittings. The pieces glue together easily and quickly with a liquid primer and an adhesive made especially for this work. I have a Black and Decker WorkMate and it provides the portable workbench/holding platform to cut the pipe. (I probably have the first version on the WorkMate, a marvelous invention that Carol gave me 25+ years ago.)
The problem with making these repairs is that the pipe is definitely not in an unconfined place. The first photo indicates the problem.
The basic repair involves cutting out the damaged piece of pipe; cutting the appropriate length of new pipe from replacement stock; priming/gluing a new coupling to each end of the sound pieces; and then fitting the repair piece into place at the exposed ends of the system pipe, one end at a time, after priming/gluing each end of the exposed pipe under repair.
The problem is that the pipe under repair is set in the ground and, like the replacement piece, has very limited flex. There is also very little lateral movement of the pipe in the ground.
The first photo shows the solution in a particular case. I dug the trench up to a nearby elbow and then dug a second trench that followed the 90 degree turn. At the 90 degree turn, I widened the trench so that I could push the pipe section under repair in the direction of the elbow, giving me enough room between each of the pipe ends under repair to slip in my new piece.
The second photo illustrates two problems. Here I did not have a nearby elbow to help me make room for a replacement section. In addition, one section under repair was a break in a 30 long section of pipe that Jack, upon initial installation, had gently flexed to follow the boarder of the front driveway. The plumber who installed the drain line from the new bathroom simply had to remove about a two foot section of that pipe. There was not nearly enough room for the sort of flex one could safely coax from a repair section of pvc. Furthermore, the angle between the exposed ends of the pipe under repair was less than 22 degrees. I could not find an elbow that would help me fit in the replacement section, and the pipe, as usual, had very little horizontal (longitudinal) play, if any at all.
Enter Flexible PVC. I learned about this miracle solution on the internet. I went back to Home Depot and Lowe's which carried flexible pvc, but neither of them had it in the 1 1/4" variety. But a supply house in Nevada had it, and within a week of my order I had a five foot piece in hand. It made an easy fit, as the photo indicates.
At the bottom of the photo you can also see a "T" junction which was completely broken when I dug out this section. Here I had very little room to maneuver, but a fitting called an expansion repair coupling came to the rescue. This coupling has a telescoping feature that will shorten and lengthen the coupling over about 5 inches of play. To install it, you remove about a foot or so of the pipe with the break; then separate the coupling into its two pieces, gluing one piece to each of the ends under repair; and then slide the coupling closed and tighten it. The coupling has a rubber bushing that seals it in water-tight fashion. Amazing. I used several of these.
There are some other repair approaches. For example, if there is simply a small hole, there is a sort of pvc patch that one can paint with the glue and snap around the section of pipe that has the hole. None of the breaks I had were that small. And there is also a compression fitting available, but I couldn't figure out how that was to be used.
As much as the Lowe's and Home Depot people advertise about having experts at hand to help you, I found myself to be pretty much on my own at those places. One bit of irony is that on my very last visit to Lowe's, I came across an instructional CD entitled Sprinkler System Design and Installation. It was very inexpensive and I bought it, but I'm not sure I want to see it. (I shouldn't say I was on my own. Carol often went with me on my shopping expeditions. She became quite knowledgeable after several visits, and she had the patience to sort through the various boxes at Lowe's and Home Depot that often were either wrongly labled or had the wrong parts mixed up in them.) (Rain Bird has an instructional video on sale at its website.)
The other renovation job I asked our contractor to come back and fix is the driveway itself. We have an old fashioned asphalt, circular drive. What we would like to have are "pavers," that is, a driveway of bricks that are laid cobblestone fashion and can look very nice. The contractor is nowhere in sight.
Let me see, what should I do . . . ? Now that would be a project!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Water!
Today, after patching one more section of the South Zone, the last of the three zones to be repaired, and replacing several more sprinkler heads, we flipped the switch and everything worked.
Business Idea for the Entrepreneurs in the Family
Some sort of export import/business to Africa, maybe in the med technology field. (I'm telling you, if Mary goes back to Africa, I'm going too, if God gives me the health and the means, which I pray he will. By that time, I hope there is a Miami-Nairobi direct air link. Carol says she's coming along, and I'm counting on it.) I'm thinking that with the Davidson College doctor connection, this is a no-brainer.
Fabulous Friday
Yesterday, Carol and I took a "vacation day" and spent it with Mary, who has been here for a few days of her Spring break. We toured South Dade (sometimes referred to as "Redland" or "the Redlands"), starting with our first visit to RF Orchids, then to lunch at the "Tea Room" at Cauley Scquare, on to the Plant Creations nursery, and finally to that famous, glorified fruit stand known as Robert is Here, probably the only fruit stand in Florida with its own micro-zoo out back.
RF Orchids is an orchid nursery that Carol and I learned about at the Miami International Orchid Show that we attended a few weeks ago. It teems with gorgeous orchids, and the nursery rooms are replete with growing, blooming plants, rooms that are open and welcoming to the visitor. (We knew the owners were happy to have us, when one of the staff brought us out glasses of home-made lemonade within five minutes of our arrival.)
Cauley Square is an eccentric collection of shops and small restaurants grouped just off US 1 near Goulds. Mary Ann Ballard, a member of a pioneer S. Dade family, developed this unusal place, round an ancient (for Florida) building just off the track bed for Flagler's railroad that once took people to Key West. (Mary Ann is now deceased, but I had the privilege of knowing her many years ago.) Just to demonstrate that I have no male identity problems, I am not embarrassed to report that not only did I have lunch with Carol and Mary in the "Tea Room" at Cauley Square, I had spinach quiche, which was simply fabulous. (More on Cauley Square, Mary Ann, and the Team Room here.)
After lunch we visited a nursery that has an outstanding web site, Plant Creations. It has an impressive inventory of plants and trees, but it is plainly for the landscape professional. Amateurs like us would best stay on the website and, when we make our in-person visits, have our list of acquisition needs already in hand.
We ended our South Dade tour with a visit to Robert is Here, which enjoys legendary status among people who live in Miami-Dade and is a required stop anytime we are otherwise within 15 miles of the place. We had the obligatory strawberry-key lime milk shake (just one of the many flavors available), sampled some Guayava fruit that Robert himself cut up and offered us (one of the photos shows Robert serving Mary), bought a Mamey for Mary to take back to a friend at Bryn Mawr, and just had a great time looking around at the fruit and other offerings, and, especially interesting for me, at the other visitors, not only tourists from up North but ones from Europe as well, particularly the Germans. (The Germans are the ones who look like us, only they are bigger).
Two of the places we visited, RF Orchids and Cauley Square, are part of a self-guided tour called the "Redland Tropical Trail," which has its own website.
RF Orchids is an orchid nursery that Carol and I learned about at the Miami International Orchid Show that we attended a few weeks ago. It teems with gorgeous orchids, and the nursery rooms are replete with growing, blooming plants, rooms that are open and welcoming to the visitor. (We knew the owners were happy to have us, when one of the staff brought us out glasses of home-made lemonade within five minutes of our arrival.)
Cauley Square is an eccentric collection of shops and small restaurants grouped just off US 1 near Goulds. Mary Ann Ballard, a member of a pioneer S. Dade family, developed this unusal place, round an ancient (for Florida) building just off the track bed for Flagler's railroad that once took people to Key West. (Mary Ann is now deceased, but I had the privilege of knowing her many years ago.) Just to demonstrate that I have no male identity problems, I am not embarrassed to report that not only did I have lunch with Carol and Mary in the "Tea Room" at Cauley Square, I had spinach quiche, which was simply fabulous. (More on Cauley Square, Mary Ann, and the Team Room here.)
After lunch we visited a nursery that has an outstanding web site, Plant Creations. It has an impressive inventory of plants and trees, but it is plainly for the landscape professional. Amateurs like us would best stay on the website and, when we make our in-person visits, have our list of acquisition needs already in hand.
We ended our South Dade tour with a visit to Robert is Here, which enjoys legendary status among people who live in Miami-Dade and is a required stop anytime we are otherwise within 15 miles of the place. We had the obligatory strawberry-key lime milk shake (just one of the many flavors available), sampled some Guayava fruit that Robert himself cut up and offered us (one of the photos shows Robert serving Mary), bought a Mamey for Mary to take back to a friend at Bryn Mawr, and just had a great time looking around at the fruit and other offerings, and, especially interesting for me, at the other visitors, not only tourists from up North but ones from Europe as well, particularly the Germans. (The Germans are the ones who look like us, only they are bigger).
Two of the places we visited, RF Orchids and Cauley Square, are part of a self-guided tour called the "Redland Tropical Trail," which has its own website.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Mary Admitted to Med School!
Here.
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him all creatures here below!
Praise Him above heavenly host!
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Amen.
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him all creatures here below!
Praise Him above heavenly host!
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Amen.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Unrelated
I'm starting a new project for myself. At this point, it's going to have two connection points on the web: a short form and a long form.
The short form is up and running: Unrelated:
It's mostly a list of things that are ideas themselves, or shards of ideas, or nascent ideas that I'm not going to work at all into trying to relate to each other. (Hence the name.)
The Long Form, if it happens, will be a place to link them all up in an essay form.
The short form is up and running: Unrelated:
It's mostly a list of things that are ideas themselves, or shards of ideas, or nascent ideas that I'm not going to work at all into trying to relate to each other. (Hence the name.)
The Long Form, if it happens, will be a place to link them all up in an essay form.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
More Renovation
Our last report on the renovation was May of last year. Although at that time about a year had gone by since the contractor had officially signed off, there were matters left for us to do. Carol worked on the windows, and I worked on repairing the damage to our yard. Despite being good with a shovel, I didn't feel quite up to repairing the lawn sprinkler system that the workers had damaged nor the driveway that had been sliced through at a couple of places. I asked the contractor to come back and give an estimate on putting that in order. He took at look at it about six months ago and brought by a sprinkler subcontractor, but I haven't heard anything from him since then. (No recession in that business, apparently.)
So, several weeks ago I got the shovel back out and resolved to put the sprinkler system back in working order. Since then, I have become well known in the plumbing department of the new Lowe's in Hialeah, have bought work lights that allow me to toil after the sun goes down, and learned, among other things, that there is something called "flexible pvc" and 22 degree elbows and other semi-exotic sprinkler system parts. The internet has been a great help in figuring out how to patch broken pipe and, of course, there's Jack Dewhurst to consult: Jack, who, between jobs during 2003, originally put in the system.
Finally, there is Carol, the brain trust. She would have been a great engineer or surgeon, because she can really figure things out. So out she comes when I run into a problem.
The sprinkler system for our vast estate has three zones, one for the back yard (South Zone), one for the west yard and the west parkway or "swale" as some people call it (West Zone) and one for the front yard and north parkway (North Zone). (No need for an East Zone because Octavio, our neighbor to the east, has a very serious sprinkler system that takes care of about a six feet strip on our side of our common lot line. Octavio has just finished building one of the new terminals at MIA. Before that he went around the country building new Home Depots. He is a serious DIY guy. He tries not to smile when he sees me with a shovel.)
The West Zone is now up and sprinkling. The North Zone is up and sprinkling except for a portion I have temporarily capped off while I wait for the delivery of some 1 1/4 flexible, white pvc to repair a break. The South Zone was the most damaged, and today I repaired one of the pipe breaks and located what I believe is the only other one in that zone. So I have the back broken on this project.
Let Octavio smile.
So, several weeks ago I got the shovel back out and resolved to put the sprinkler system back in working order. Since then, I have become well known in the plumbing department of the new Lowe's in Hialeah, have bought work lights that allow me to toil after the sun goes down, and learned, among other things, that there is something called "flexible pvc" and 22 degree elbows and other semi-exotic sprinkler system parts. The internet has been a great help in figuring out how to patch broken pipe and, of course, there's Jack Dewhurst to consult: Jack, who, between jobs during 2003, originally put in the system.
Finally, there is Carol, the brain trust. She would have been a great engineer or surgeon, because she can really figure things out. So out she comes when I run into a problem.
The sprinkler system for our vast estate has three zones, one for the back yard (South Zone), one for the west yard and the west parkway or "swale" as some people call it (West Zone) and one for the front yard and north parkway (North Zone). (No need for an East Zone because Octavio, our neighbor to the east, has a very serious sprinkler system that takes care of about a six feet strip on our side of our common lot line. Octavio has just finished building one of the new terminals at MIA. Before that he went around the country building new Home Depots. He is a serious DIY guy. He tries not to smile when he sees me with a shovel.)
The West Zone is now up and sprinkling. The North Zone is up and sprinkling except for a portion I have temporarily capped off while I wait for the delivery of some 1 1/4 flexible, white pvc to repair a break. The South Zone was the most damaged, and today I repaired one of the pipe breaks and located what I believe is the only other one in that zone. So I have the back broken on this project.
Let Octavio smile.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Matters not to Confess at the Med School Interview
Mary soon goes to her med school interview. She's been researching what to expect, and one question often asked is "What are your weaknesses." So I am now proposing that we list weaknesses that are best kept to yourself at these things. Of course, Mary has none of these weaknesses, so this proposal is for the public interest.
Things not to confess at the med school interview:
1. I hate to wash my hands.
2. The sight of blood makes me faint
3. I'm in this for the money
4. I go to bed early and turn my phone offf
5. I never learned to cover my face when I sneeze
6. I think people get sick because they've sinned.
Things not to confess at the med school interview:
1. I hate to wash my hands.
2. The sight of blood makes me faint
3. I'm in this for the money
4. I go to bed early and turn my phone offf
5. I never learned to cover my face when I sneeze
6. I think people get sick because they've sinned.
From Some Other Planet, Senator Kerry Again Speaks to the Financial Crisis
Bankers as Animal House partiers.
Bankers? You have to be kidding me. I have been dealing with these types for 30+ years. These are not (repeat not) party animals. Compare, say, the Masters with Woodstock.
We are in such good hands with Washington now running the banking system, not to mention the auto industry, the insurance industry, the education system, the District of Columbia, Iraq, Afghanistan, the War on Drugs, and soon to be, apparently, health care and about everything else.
My theory has been that Washington supports the UN because the UN bureaucrats in NY make Washington look good. But I don't know. I'm not saying that the UN should start packing its bags, but . . .
Bankers? You have to be kidding me. I have been dealing with these types for 30+ years. These are not (repeat not) party animals. Compare, say, the Masters with Woodstock.
We are in such good hands with Washington now running the banking system, not to mention the auto industry, the insurance industry, the education system, the District of Columbia, Iraq, Afghanistan, the War on Drugs, and soon to be, apparently, health care and about everything else.
My theory has been that Washington supports the UN because the UN bureaucrats in NY make Washington look good. But I don't know. I'm not saying that the UN should start packing its bags, but . . .
Monday, March 02, 2009
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Funny conversations at the dinner table...
So, the other night, Aidan started knocking on the under side of the dinner table while we were all eating. After doing it a few times, I said, "who's there?" Aidan said, "it's Webb!" (the name of his best little buddy). Honor quickly interjected, "NO! It's Jesus!"
The remaining conversation went something like this:
"webb!"
"Jesus!"
"webb!"
"Jesus!"
"webb!"
"Jesus!"
until they both dissolved in laughter. This continues to remain a heated debate at our dinner table whenever someone "knocks" on the table.
It makes me smile every time.
The remaining conversation went something like this:
"webb!"
"Jesus!"
"webb!"
"Jesus!"
"webb!"
"Jesus!"
until they both dissolved in laughter. This continues to remain a heated debate at our dinner table whenever someone "knocks" on the table.
It makes me smile every time.
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