Life On A B-I7

It’s a Small World

Life is full of surprises. I was recently on a four-day ski vacation in Jackson Hole with my Sweetheart. She was in a women’s ski camp and I was free skiing. Day 1, first chair, I rode up the mountain with this fellow. We started chatting and I learned a good bit about him. Retired, avid skier, and among other things, a former professor at Whitman College. That part intrigued me. I asked him where he did his undergraduate work, and he told me Whitman College. Now my interest was really peaked. Since he seemed about my age and my Sweetheart also graduated from Whitman, I asked him off-handedly if he knew my Sweetheart, as a matter of fact, he did. He told me with a huge smile that they had dated in college!

My new friend (and I suppose former rival — of sorts) skied together all day. He was leaving the next day for two days of skiing at Grand Targhee but he was coming back to JH on Friday. We made plans to ski together on Friday, which we did all day. He’s a terrific guy (which I assume speaks well for me…?)

He’s returning to Whitman next month to present a guest lecture. My Sweetheart and I will be attending. I’m looking forward to seeing my new ski friend again.

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# 186

The Stoic Philosopher Epictetus, in 55 BC, said the following:

“Do not seek to have everything that happens happen as you wish, but wish for everything to happen as it actually does happen, and your life will be serene.”

I recently listened to someone describe how disturbed they became each time they drove into their neighborhood and saw something that was not to their liking. The person went into great detail about the emotional distress this caused. I couldn’t help thinking about this quote from Epictetus. Obsession over situations that are out of our control is a waste of energy, not only that, but it will eventually kill us.

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# 185

Do this every day to be a better writer and a better person.

Daily Practice

1. Hand-Copying
2. Walking (or Cycling or Skiing)
3. Reading
4. Journaling
5. Meditation
6. Writing

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Spring Skiing

Spring Skiing on Mt. Bachelor in Oregon, rockin’ classic ski sweaters. These are Delaine classic merino wool sweaters made in the USA. Reminiscent of the finest ski sweaters imported from Germany and Austria, but made right here. They make you ski better too!

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St. Patrick’s Day Dinner

Who doesn’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? A very dear friend of mine is a proud Irishman. He doesn’t speak with a brogue, but he is as Irish as you can get in every other regard. This dinner is celebrated in his honor.

Corned Beef

3 lbs Corned Beef Brisket
1lb Baby Carrots
1lb small Yukon gold potatoes
Beef Broth
2 Yellow Onions
1 head Green Cabbage.
Garlic
Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread

I went to two stores looking for Authentic Irish Soda Bread. It’s a small town and I couldn’t find any — so I made it myself.

4 cups Flour
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
5 Tbsp Butter (cubed and softened)
1 cup Raisins
(I prefer Golden Raisins over Currents)
1 Egg
1 - 3/4 Cups Buttermilk

Whisk dry ingredients. Add cubed butter and mix by hand. Stir in Raisins. Make a hole in the middle of the dry dough mixture and add whisked Egg and Buttermilk. Fold until well mixed. Turn out onto a floured surface and press into a ball, work the dough until it has a consistent texture but do not overwork. Place the dough in a cast iron skillet approximately 8” in diameter. Dough should be slightly mounded, score an “X” on the top, and bake for 30 to 45 minutes at 400 until a toothpick comes out clean.

The dinner was delicious.

May your troubles be less and your blessings be more and nothing but happiness come through your door! Old Irish saying.

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My Writing Statistics

I use the Grammarly application when I write. Most of my writing is done for this blog. These stats were accumulated based on 163,412 written words in the last 19 weeks.

Here are the basic measures:

• Writing Streak: 19 Weeks.
• You were more productive than 87% of Grammarly users.
• You were more accurate than 72% of Grammarly users.
• You used more unique words than 97% of Grammarly users.

I like the last one. I think my use of unique words is pretty remarkable, and frankly, a bit surprising. Grammarly also provides a measure of (somewhat mysterious) attributes they call “Tones.”

It would be interesting to delve into the algorithms used to determine the tone scores. I assume the percentages are in relation to other Grammarly users. So two-thirds of Grammarly users are more “Confident” and “Formal” than I am. “Confident” is the interesting one. I’ve been told by people I need to be more assertive (which is also one of the tones measured). I agree, I tend to be a peace maker and not the sort to take people on directly. I have no plans to change that. I get the “Formal” rating. This is a blog, not a ”Financial Times” article. I realize that risks losing readers, but that’s okay too. I do this primarily because I enjoy doing it, not because I am seeking an audience, and certainly not because it makes me money. The last three tones “Admiring”, “Friendly” and “Cooperative” are a bit of a mystery to me. Hopefully the “Friendly” score only applies to my writing, not my personality…

I use the free version of Grammarly. I find it most helpful correcting my spelling. It also is helpful getting commas in the right place. I hate commas and never learned the rules for proper usage of the little beasts. Maybe someday I will, but that’s not high on my list of skills to master. I’m much more interested in learning how to properly use the edges of my skis throughout the full arc of a turn.

I don’t use the paid version of Grammarly. The paid version uses AI to rewrite your shit. This shit is all mine.

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# 184

I try (mostly with success) not to use expletives.

What the fuck, who cares.

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# 183

I’ve been asking myself a few questions lately. One in particular, where did our Universe come from? I don’t know. I like to think it was created from the remains of a collapsed universe that spit its contents into our realm. Something like black holes and white holes. That begs the issue. All I did was move the question to an earlier point in time.

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# 182

I may be losing some memory. That’s ok. I keep a journal. I just need to remember to read it…

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The 70+ Ski Club

In January of this year, I became an unofficial member of the 70+ Ski Club. I officially joined yesterday. The club is only open to people over the age of 70. They have over 3,000 members nationwide, many in their 80’s and 90’s, and even a few over 100 years old!

They appear to be primarily located on the East Coast, but they do have regional chapters. I’m excited to find out if they have a PNW chapter. Even if they don’t, they sponsor several trips a year and they look like a fun group to hang out with. They even have a trip to Chile, which would be very exciting.

I’m skiing better at 70 than I ever have in my life. I know that sounds preposterous, but it’s true. This season and last season in particular I have been focused on my technique. It seems like I get a little bit better at one thing each time I go out onto the hill. Yesterday I felt for the first time what it is like to get a truly early weight shift from the downhill ski to the new turning ski. This can be amazingly boring to someone who doesn’t ski, but trust me when I say how important this is. I’ve been working on this and rolling the ankles to initiate a turn for the last year. When you watch most skiers on the hill, you will see them lifting a ski, sliding a ski, or unweighting with their body to initiate a turn. Those are all signs of sloppy, and frankly ugly skiing. What I realized yesterday is that you have to shift the weight to the new turning ski before you roll your ankles. This all takes place before you even start your next turn, in other words, while you are still in the previous turn. It’s not easy, but when you accomplish it, it gives you a smooth connection between your turns and the snow, as well as greater stability and good edging throughout the arc of every turn. It also keeps you connected to the snow during your turn transition.

Enough already. I’m boring you. What I’m doing here is entertaining myself, and documenting what I have come to realize and practice after many years of not having a clue what I’m doing. One final note. This started with a private lesson at Sun Valley from a 70+ Instructor at the end of last season. It was that lesson that set me on the path to better skiing.

I’ve been skiing for almost 60 years (one year shy of 60). It has taken me that long to figure things out. With luck, I’ll have another 30 to enjoy the fruits of my recent discoveries, and maybe the 70+ Ski Club will throw me a “100 Party” 30 years from now…

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A Note of Apology?

My Father was known to be quite stern at work (and home as well). This little artifact shows a side of him that wasn’t always clearly on display. A new employee reporting to my father, three days on the job, left this note on my Father’s desk.

Dear Mr. Boss Man;

I’ve worked for you three days now, and so far, I was here until 11 PM on the first day, came in early and stayed until almost seven on the second, was fifteen minutes late on the third and am now about to leave at 11 PM.

Question: What the hell did you do before I came along?

Regards, “The New Guy”

Yeah - I know! I’ve Gotta stop coming in late!

As I recall, “The New Guy” and my dad became close friends.

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Carving Set

This is the carving set that goes with the cutting board written about in the previous entry. The set belonged to my grandfather (Chris). The set is hand made but I don’t know if Chris made the set or if it was made for him. The handles are antler. I would be willing to bet that Chris shot the deer or caribou that provided the antler material for the handles. I’m pretty sure that Chris and my grandmother Phyllis were living in Alaska at the time this set was made.

The set consists of a carving fork, a carving knife, and sharpening steel. Chris was a hunter. Based on the wear of the knife blade, I’m quite sure this set has seen a lot of use. One interesting note is that my father Jack made the wood holder for the carving set. Jack loved to work with wood. For him, it was a hobby that provided relief from the pressure of his job at the Boeing Company. (I think to a certain extent it also kept him out of the house where he didn’t have to worry too much about what the children were up to, not too unusual for his generation I think.) I remember as a boy watching my father work in his garage building all manner of wood things. My interest in building came at a young age from watching him.

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Carving Board

This carving board belonged to my Grandfather (we called him Chris). Chris was the second husband to my Grandmother Phyllis. I remember when I was young, pre-teen, having holidays at Phyllis and Chris’s home in the Greenwood district of Seattle. That was the early 60’s.

It was a beautiful home with a walk-up mother-in-law apartment on the top floor. Phyllis and Chris lived in the mother-in-law and they rented the lower portion of the home. The house still stands today and looks as good as it did when Grandma and Grandpa lived there.

I don’t know the back story on the cutting board. It is possible Chris made the wood portion, he was a talented woodworker. The two Long Horn cattle heads are castings that Chris likely had made for the board. The board was passed down to my father, Jack, when Chris passed away. I now have the cutting board. My goal is for it to continue to remain in the family.

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Japanese Vase

My father Jack spent time overseas when he worked for the Boeing Company. He was the Director of the Contracts Administration Department. I was quite young when he brought this vase home from a trip to Japan. He was there to negotiate an airplane sale. Unfortunately, I don’t know exactly what he did other than that he was involved in the contract negotiations and contract signings in some way.

As it turns out, I ended up working for the Boeing Company as well (I’ve since retired). I did not follow exactly in my father’s footsteps, I did not work with people as he did, I worked with computers, in particular large-scale databases. I like to think I was good at what I did. I know that my father was good at what he did. How did I end up working there? Well, my father played a very important indirect role. I remember in my interview, the hiring manager asked me if I knew why he was going to hire me. I said quite candidly, “No I don’t.” He informed me that since my Father was successful he figured that I would be as well. That was a different time. I have a hunch that my first manager was a little bit jealous of my Father, that’s speculation of course.

My father worked for the Boeing Company for 44 years. I managed to put in 37, I didn’t want to break that particular record, that would have meant working until I was well over 65, not something I wanted to do.

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# 181

You may have realized I would rather be a writer or poet if I had been given the choice when I was young, and if I had the consciousness then to follow that path.

That would not have been a bad way to live. That said, I am enjoying the experience now immensely.

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# 180

Meditation allows us many things, but possibly the most important thing is that it allows us to shift our perception. Instead of thinking about “things,” we can shift our perception so we “experience” what we are thinking — opening new doors to insight.

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# 179.1

It occurred to me that I could use decimals in my numbering scheme to allow me more than one entry on a given day. I promise not to make a habit of that practice…

St. Patrick’s Day Dinner

3 lbs Corned Beef Brisket
1lb Baby Carrots
1lb small Yukon gold potatoes
Beef Broth
2 Yellow Onions
1 head Green Cabbage.
Garlic
Soda Bread

(There’s more to it than that, but that’s the assignment I’ve been given.)

Irish Soda Bread

I went to two stores looking for Authentic Irish Soda Bread. It’s a fairly small town but still, I couldn’t find any — so I made it myself.

4 cups Flour
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
4 Tbsp Butter
1 cup Raisins (either type, I prefer Golden Raisins)
1 Egg
1 - 3/4 Cups Buttermilk

Whisk dry ingredients. Add cubed butter and mix by hand. Stir in Raisins. Make a hole in the middle of the dry dough mixture and add whisked Egg and Buttermilk. Fold until well mixed. Turn out onto a floured surface and press into a ball, work the dough until it has a consistent texture but do not overwork. Place the dough in a cast iron skillet approximately 8” in diameter. Flatten the dough to an even thickness, score an “X” on the top, and bake for 30 to 45 minutes at 425 until a toothpick comes out clean.

The dinner was delicious.

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A Perfect Day

Rippin the Roy!

I call this post my ode to Instagram. If this were Instagram, I would have ended the post with the caption above. The reason I have a blog is that I like to write and arguably Instagram is not the place for that sort of thing. Of course, neither is TikTok, X, or Facebook. I’ve read that people should be familiar with TikTok slang and be able to use it to relate to younger generations. (You would be correct in assuming I am an older generation.) For example, I could have added the hashtag “xyzbca” to the above photo as a means of pointing out how cool the photo was. That’s not going to happen here. I think words are enough.

I will say the following about today’s social media platforms, you don’t have to know how to read to use them. To be frank, I think it is one of the design goals of the developers. All of the social media platforms mentioned above are designed to influence us in some way. You can say that about any form of communication, this writing included, but I think it is especially true about those sites and many other social media sites. Social media presents us with unsubstantiated ideas. By that, I mean there are often few if any facts to back up the propositions being put forward. I know what you are thinking, where are your facts for this garbage you are throwing out here? It’s simple, what I’m telling you amounts to my opinion, the difference is I’m making no effort to have this particular piece of my opinion sound like fact.

All of this is what you might want to think of as a tangent. It is my opinion that Instagram is the least dangerous social media platform, but still can be used for subtle forms of influencing. It is my opinion that X, TruthSocial, and even Facebook are a waste of time. I’ve seen too many people get hurt on Facebook, and I think X and TruthSocial (and others like them) are a complete waste of time. Not only that, they are dangerous. They can (and have) led us down paths that could ultimately change our society in ways that are intended to benefit a few, rather than benefit the many. Yes, that’s my opinion.

Something else to consider, not just my opinion, but the opinion of a growing number of social scientists, there is an expanding body of evidence-based studies showing the negative impact of smartphones on child development. (Smartphones are of course the portal to social media.) In short, the environment created by smartphones is hostile to children’s development. Here’s one example of the research: End the Phone-Based Childhood Now. This post now officially qualifies as a screed.

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A Maxim

Benjamin Franklin wrote under several pseudonyms. He wrote as “Silence Dogood” for the New-England Courant, he also wrote as the “Busy Body” for the American Weekly Mercury, and most famously, as “Richard Saunders” for Poor Richard’s Almanack. One of Franklin’s most famous maxims appeared in Poor Richard’s Almanack in 1732. “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

The Founders were privileged to have available publications from Europe that few colonists had access to. One such publication was the Spectator. In 1726, the clergyman Thomas Fuller wrote an essay titled, “Directions, Counsels, and Cautions Tending to Prudent Management in Affairs of Common Life.” Fuller’s essay contained the following maxim: “Use thy self to rise and go to bed early. This may seem like a frivolous precept, because it respects such common matters; but if it be well observed, it will contribute very much toward the rendering of a life long, useful and happy.” Franklin took Fuller’s maxim and condensed it into his famous version published in Poor Richard’s Almanack.

It’s easy to see why people had such love and respect for Benjamin Franklin.

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# 179

I read the poem “Horses,” by Pablo Neruda. It was so beautiful it made me cry. So did the poem “A Blessing,” by James Wright, as did the poem “First Days of Spring — the Sky,” by Ryokan.

Needless to say, I wish I could write poetry (anything really) as beautifully as those poets.

Sidebar: I sometimes ignore Grammarly. It suggested I delete the phrase “Needless to say”. I like my way better. Of course, I am frequently accused of being verbose and not just by Grammarly…

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# 178

Turn On The Berm

Don’t use the top.
Don’t use the trough.
Turn on the berm.

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# 177

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday. I love you. Thank you for being a part of my life. I once got a ride from an Uber driver, and when I told him what a wonderful family I had, he told me he wanted to join my family. You are a big part of that.

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# 176 - Betrayal of 1776

I watch in horror, as
They storm the steps
With no idea
What they are doing.

I am witnessing
The calculated destruction
Of democracy,
One man’s dream.

It saddens me
That so many allow themselves
To become
Ignorant tools.

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# 175

Have you ever seen
an elephant standing on one leg
on top of a stack
of tea cups?

I have.

When I looked more closely
I saw a reality
where elephants
weigh less than tea cups.

It was an optical illusion.

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# 174

Seek tranquility whenever you can. The thoughts that come to you when you do that are the best guides you can have.

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