Are Humans a “Fire Species?”

The jack pine must be destroyed by fire to reproduce.Photo source: Global Forrest Science

At today’s Men’s Linguistic Society meeting, we focused on another Howard Thurman sermon. This one compared the human spirit to the jack pine of the norther US and Canada. The jack pine is a fire species. It grows in dense stands that are demolished by forest fires. But the fire prepares the soil for a new stand and releases the seeds from the cones. The seeds remain dormant but viable in the cones for years, waiting on a catastrophic fire to release and activate them.

Chuck’s question was, “Will the current economic crisis act as a catalyst to bring about significant improvements in the economic system and prepare the soil for a new stand of sustainable prosperity?” We were divided in our opinions. Some were optimistic, others cynical. I sat firmly on the fence.

I believe we will devise new safeguards for the economy to prevent this crisis from recurring from the same causes. If we survive, the economy will be leaner and stronger, and, perhaps, it will be driven by something other than consumption, which (like the disease) eventually consumes its host.

On the other hand, I also believe that humans cannot devise a system that humans cannot corrupt. As Benjamin Franklin said, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” The price of economic security is balancing between freedom and regulation. Too much of either is a dangerous thing.

Thanks, Dad

Dad at Texas Roadhouse

This week’s Grateful Monday is short. I’m grateful to have my dad hanging around, farming, and generally being obnoxious at 86. It may not be all that unusual for someone in their 50s to still enjoy the company of their parents, but consider that Dad and Mom were both in their mid-30s when I was born.

I lost Mom almost a decade ago. I want Dad to be around for a long, long time. I’m greedy that way.

Movie Review: Star Trek (2009)

Black holes and planets don’t mix.

Photo source: Star Trek

We all went to see the new Star Trek movie last night. Suna and I both approached it as Trekkies from the sixties. That is, we were optimistic but ready to be disappointed, especially after the last few movies. TubaBoy was seeing for the second time in two nights. Beccano seemed eager to see it for the first time.

I was not disappointed. The movie was a success on all accounts. The least entertaining point was the long expository sequence where Spock recounts the events leading up to the history-changing battle that opens the movie. Other than that, it certainly did not seem as if we were in the theater anywhere near as long as we were. We even watched the credits for a while—something we almost never do.

I used the phrase “history-changing” rather than “historic” or “history-making” for a reason. The movie has been called a “reset.” It’s like when we were kids. It’s a “do over” more than a remake.

Forget any current theories of black holes or wormholes. Science is not one of the strengths of this movie. Hopefully, that will come back in future installments.

Using a fourth-grader’s understanding of physics, Director J.J. Abrams wipes the slate clean and allows these young actors to reshape our favorite characters in their own ways. None of the events that shaped the characters we have cherished for decades ever happened except in some alternate history, as Uhura noted.

Abram walked a tightrope with this movie. While remaining true to the spirit of the original, he set the stage for a new new generation—or is that a new first generation?—to go boldly where no human has gone before, again. It will be interesting to see where they go.

Mother’s Day, Birds, and Flowers

Dad’s newest calf

We got up early (for us, late for Dad) this morning and drove into town for donuts and coffee—the most nutritious of all breakfasts. We sat around the Donut Palace, watching the head server call out people’s orders to them as they came through the door and wondering how cool/boring it must be to know everyone in town that well.

After breakfast as we trolled the streets of Yorktown trying to figure out what to do next, we came upon Uncle Carol working in his yard. So we stopped and bothered him and Aunt Kathy for awhile.

We mostly sat in the back yard talking and petting the neighborhood dog, but we were really bird watching. They have a bird feeder built to look like an Old West hotel and painted with Bed and Breakfast. Even the tiniest birds couldn't fit inside to see if there was a bed, but they all seemed to enjoy their breakfast. Among the visitors to the feeder were:

Suna sits in a field of wild flowers at the intersection of US-87 and FM1116.

• White winged doves
• Mexican doves (with red under their wings)
• Cardinals
• A yellow-headed woodpecker

Then we drove around the countryside talking about nothing. Back at the farm, we walked around—looking at the flowers and cows, mostly just enjoying being outside together.

Too soon, it was time to leave. We took the scenic route home so we could enjoy the wild flowers running amock across the countryside. Dad said there weren’t to many around his place, but we found them. I think he just looks for other things and misses the beauty around him. We found one spectacular field at the intersection of US87 and FM1116.

Dad's Birthday a Day Late

Dad at his farm

Yesterday was Dad’s 86th birthday. I called to wish him the best, but I couldn’t get ahold of him because he was out looking at the full moon. I knew it was a full moon, and I knew he does that. So I had asked Sweetness to let him know Suna and I would make the trek to see him today. She had shipped him a bunch of candy and was going to keep calling until he answered.

This morning we headed out. We arrived to find him napping with his cows. We talked awhile, played him the CD of the church choir singing the Schubert Mass in G, then drove him into Victoria for a birthday bash at Texas Roadhouse. He ate almost all of his catfish.

After “supper” [dinner for most of us], we stopped in to visit some old friends from church who up and moved to Victoria last year. We all had a good time.

Back at the farm, we watch the moonrise. Then we talked until well past Dad’s bedtime.

Photos and copy editing to come later.

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5/10/2009 Update: Added picture and edited.

Food for Thought #12: 100 Days

Barack Obama:
Not on His 100^th Day in Office

Photo source: Macrobuddies

Sorry I haven’t posted for awhile and fallen down on my weekly Food for Thought obligations. I’ve been on deadline at work. Something about writing for 10-12 hours a day greatly reduces the inclination to blog.

So in my absences, I missed commenting on the great press hoopla over Barack Obama’s 100^th day in office. Not being one to pay that much attention to time except when someone makes me, today’s FFT celebrates that occassion a little late. It derives from a question Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times now famously asked the President.

Appetizer: During the last 100 days, what most surprised you?

How well the church choir pulled of Franz Schubert’s Mass in G. Even the morning of the performance, we sounded flat (dynamics, not pitch). But when we sang for real, there was some kind of magic transformation. We sounded bigger and better than we actually are.

Soup: What most befuddled you?

I don’t know for sure, but I sure seem to have been fuddled. My brain seemed clouded most of the time, as if it were operating at 75% efficiency or something. Lack of sleep contributed, but I’m sure that wasn’t the whole problem.

Salad: What most uplifted you?

Seeing how happy TrackGrease and his beloved looked in pictures of their wedding.

Entré: What most troubled you?

The crisis mentality that sprung up around my project as the deadline neared. Really, the project made things easier. Was the crisis just so that we could solve it?

Dessert: What most enchanted you?

All the pictures of puppies that Suna keeps showing me.

Cherry

Me and My Victory

Photo by: Karl P.

I said I would post pictures of my new bike, whom Suna has named Cherry. One of my uber-conservative friends snapped the picture this weekend when I stopped by his house.

I had to ride the bike through gusty winds on an overpass today. The crosswinds were almost unnoticeable. The bike cut through them with little or no effort.

So far, I only have two complaints:

• It is belt, not shaft, driven.
• The shifter is toe-only. (I got spoiled to a heal shifter on the VTX.)

Now I promise I’ll stop going on and on about the bike.

So that brings me to what I am grateful for this week, and it’s not the bike. This week I am grateful again for Suna. She encouraged me to get the bike even though she generally dislikes them. She then blogged nice things about the bike, even making it her Wednesday Wonder! She makes me happy in thousands of little ways, just by being the nice person she is. Thanks for being so nice to me.

Food for Thought #11: Acceptance

OK. This image is kinda the opposite of acceptance. But how important is acceptance? Image source: Gritty Art

I am posting this week’s “Food for Thought” a little late, but then I’ve been late with all my posts this week.

This week’s idea stems from the Men’s Linguistic Society meeting. Some of the men from church get together once a month for lunch and a friendly discussion. Usually Rev. Chuck reads a passage from one religious leader or another to get the discussion going. This time he read a passage from Howard Thurman who postulated that everyone requires some form of acceptance and the acceptance and God’s acceptance is the ultimate.

Being good UUs, we first had to decide what the word acceptance meant. We did not try to find consensus on the meaning of God. That would not have been possible in the amount of time we had, namely a single lifetime.

So here is today’s menu. The code for the questions appears in the first comment.

Appetizer: How important is it for you to attain the approval of others?

At this point in my life, the acceptance of others is both more and less important to me than it once was. With life experience, I believe we grow less reliant on others to determine our own self-worth. I agree with Thurman’s initial point in that there is always someone whose opinion matters beyond our own self-image, someone or some group whose acceptance is critical in forming our own self-esteem. It is just that with age, we become more and more selective in whose opinions we choose to value that strongly.

Soup: Do you seek everyones approval the approval of a select few or not really give a damn?

I am more self-reliant as regards my self-esteem than when I was younger. I care less about the opions of most people. At the same time, a few people matter extremely to me.

Salad: Whose approval is most important?

Suna’s, distantly followed by my family’s and a few friends.

Entré: Whose is least?

Just about everyone else’s

Dessert: How important is it to attain you boss’ approval?

Much less than it once was. I think that as we get older, especially given some of the work experience I have had, I invest less in the opinions of my boss than I once did. I recently had a contract with someone who was an abuser. Her opinion mattered only in that I kept working, but not so much that. I think had that person offered me a permanent job, I would have declined. I know my value as a contributor. If someone else can’t see that or tries to undermine it, I know I can find a better match elsewhere in the market.

Victory

Victory Vision Tour Photo source: Victory: The New American Motorcycle

I bought a new motorcycle this week. Just earlier this year, I was thinking about selling my bike and giving it up, but now I’m glad I didn’t.

I looked at Harleys last year, but I couldn’t make myself turn loose of the money for one. Again. When I bought my original Honda VTX 1800r, I bought it because it was so much more motorcycle for the money than a Harley. This year, I didn’t even look at a Harley. I know what they look like. They haven’t changed.

I wasn’t even going to buy a bike. I had decided to keep my old one another year or two, and took it in for new tires and a state inspection sticker. I was fed up with the larger dealerships, so I took it to the Victory dealership near the church. That was a big mistake, at least so far as my wallet is concerned.

You can’t go to a dealership without looking around. It’s like eating one potato chip or stepping on the same piece of water twice. It just can’t be done. So I looked.

And I saw the most beautiful motorcycle I have ever seen in my life. I made myself leave it alone. Suna and I stopped by on Saturday to see if my bike was ready. It wasn’t, but she got a look at the bike, to. She said, “You can park that in front of my house! It’s so pretty I might even get on it.”

Monday, I called the dealership and asked the to prepare an estimate for trading in my old bike on the new one. I test drove the demo and fell in love with the bike all over again. It’s as if it were made for my body. It’s powerful and big, but it still has a low center of gravity. It turns like a dream.

We came to terms, and I picked it up on Tuesday. I’ve been driving it for a couple of days now, and I just get more impressed. I was buffeted by strong side winds going over an overpass on my way home from choir practice Wednesday night. I would have had to wrestle my old bike under those conditions. The Vision just shrugged them off as its aerodynamics seemed to adjust the bike to the turbulence automatically.

Have I mentioned how good it sounds? Not too loud, it has a deep, throaty rumble than Suna calls manly. It is the perfect motorcycle.

Bruuuuuuce, Tooooooo!

OK. It’s really Bruce!

Photo source: Carnage and Culture

OK. At Tim’s request I’ll talk a little about the actual performance. It was simply awesome. BS pulled off moves at sixty that would have hospitalized me at thirty.

High energy and stiff, he was still able to pull off the move where he leans over backwards with his feet flat on the stage and the mic stand protruding from his crotch in a weird phallic symbol. His back was perfectly parallel to the stage, about a foot above the stage supported only by holding onto the mic stand. That part was physically amazing.

For the rest of it, what can I say. It was Bruce. The concert started an hour late and lasted almost three hours. The break for the intermission lasted less than five minutes. The encore comprised at least five songs, including two sign requests after Bruce said his final goodnight. Of course, the band didn’t know all of the songs; Bruce has too many.

The most bizarre part was when he took a sign request that was written on two gum wrappers. He held the wrappers to the camera so that the audience could see “Sherry BabyDarling” on the monitors. He then ate the wrappers and played the song, even though I have been told it was only the second time he had every performed it in concert. (I doubt that because he remembered all the words, but you never know. He is a smart man.)