Ring Theory As I sit here watching the sun rise, I am, for some reason, unable to stay in bed much past 6:00 – 6:30am. It does not seem very dependent on the time I fall asleep and yet we do everything we can to keep the bedroom darkened against the dawn. Because I sleep with a CPAP machine (something I have done for twenty-five years ostensibly due to snoring, but likely now to ward…
Rocks in the Head I have always had a thing for rocks. I collect geodes. Lots of geodes. My favorite antiquities are pre-Columbian art, especially the pumice stone statues (one standing woman and two heads) and the pumice stone footed dish. The sculptures I have preferred to collect are usually a composite of rocks and metal. I have my Socrates in Ithaca and my buffalo here in San Diego. I think the reason I favored…
Getting Chile In 1985 I was sitting in our Chairman’s office with five other senior officers of Bankers Trust Company. I was 31 years old and had been with the bank for nine years. I made the first-line officer rank of Assistant Treasurer in 1978, Assistant Vice President in 1980 and Vice President in 1982. This was somewhat of a lockstep, but a lightning-fast lock-step if that isn’t too much of a non-sequitur. The career-track…
The Fairy Tree On our property out by the barbecue patio and hot tub there is a wonderful tree. It is a baobab or more commonly known as a Madagascar Bottle Tree. It is sometimes called an upside-down tree because of its unique shape. They are common to South Africa, Madagascar and Australia and they look pretty much like an Orangina bottle through the trunk, which in the case of our specimen planting is perhaps…
The Distant Peaks In my new office I have surrounded myself with things to make me feel good. That’s what we do in life, right? To my right is a NixPlay digital photo frame that shows a continuous array of pictures that my family can send in for my viewing pleasure. I can also download a bunch of travel snapshots and therefore I have my own little memory lane. This helps a lot with my…
Steel Balls This will shock you, but I think President Trump made a mistake comparing himself to Captain Bligh in the epic historical saga of Mutiny on the Bounty. This was predicated by the major east coast and west coast state governors banding together to do what they believe is best for their citizens despite what President Trump says or does.My guess is that he is only aware of the movie by that name and…
The Ruralization of the World For my entire lifespan of sixty-six years, the world was moving in only one way on its inexorable trend towards urbanization. What began as a trend driven by the industrial revolution starting in the mid-1800’s, was driven into the entire world by both industrialization and the automation of farming. It was such a common theme that the song How You Gonna Keep Them Down on the Farm (Once They’ve Seen…
Waiting for Popovers It’s Sunday morning, Easter Sunday to be exact. It’s a grey day so far here in San Diego, but as I have learned, that can change quickly, hopefully for the better. Dark Sky, MyRadar and The Weather Channel (a subsidiary of IBM) are of little help as they show no particular weather front over or near us. I am tempted to say that this weather seems to be flying below the radar.…
Consulting the Oracle A few years ago on a motorcycle trip through Greece, one of our last stops before heading into the barn in Athens was the Oracle at Delphi. The Delphic Oracle used to be called Pythia and it is a place where gaseous fumes from the subterranean realm sent high priestesses into rants and visions which came to be interpreted by ancient Greeks as prophecies. Some Greek historians say they were gibberish that…
Adventure in Paradise Today I reestablished a connection to the real world. I am declaring that lockdown is simply not real. When I think of lockdown, I will forever think of a rainy downpour and zero visibility. That pretty much describes what it’s been like here this week. My handyman Brad has been hunkered down at home since the work I have for him is outdoors and it has been miserable. Brad has managed the…