Life On A B-I7

A Bit of Help

There are times when I sit down to write and nothing worth writing comes to mind. Occasionally there are times when you get help that can’t be turned down. Today is one of those times…

As I write this, three big Labrador dogs are lying at my feet. No, they are not mine, well, at least they are for a few days. Anyway, they are making it almost impossible to think this morning because of the disagreeable aroma they are producing. My cat wandered into the room just as I was pondering what I would like to write. He immediately jumped up on the desk and walked across the keyboard. I’m not exactly sure how he was able to type so rapidly, perhaps I am a slower typist than I thought, this is what he said — in so many keystrokes:

Cat farts are not nearly as bad as dog farts.

Notes on Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations

A Sonnet by Jeffrey Rosen¹

Four habits of thought to erase from your mind:
This thought is unnecessary or destructive
This isn’t what you truly think; you find
Your mortal makes your divine part unproductive

Work for three things: proper understanding;
Unselfish action and truthful speech
And if you find yourself in a crash landing
Accept it calmly, as the sages teach

Do the work with patience and industry
Find fulfillment in what you’re doing now
Free from fear or hope of publicity
Your life will be happy if all your words are true

Life is short, and that’s all there is to say
Unrestrained moderation: the only way

This speaks to me. To me, it is a reminder to avoid distracting thoughts, prize the truth, and always contemplate the divine.² Be unselfish and truthful. If adversity befalls you accept it calmly. Be patient and always humble. Telling the truth brings happiness. Maintain moderation in speech and action at all times.

I would do well to read this every day, of course, I never read what I write, and that’s probably not a good thing. I might learn to write better if I did…

Day #218

I started writing today’s entry but got distracted by the news on Television. It’s hard not to have that happen these days.

I recently had a breakthrough in improving my skills in an area that I love. I had a coach who spoke to me in a way I could understand and that opened my eyes to some insights I had not previously grasped. Now I’m afraid I’ll forget what I learned. Living with the fear of something that might occur in the future is an uncomfortable feeling. In this case, I can take steps to avoid that happening. For example, I can make notes and refer to them periodically. That’s a great tool. In the case of the news on Television, it’s much more difficult to forget what you see occurring, and forgetting is hard to do, even if you try.

Day #217

Will Generative AI (GAI) ultimately learn to be more creative (smarter) than humans? It does not seem likely. It seems to me that GAI suffers from something similar to MAD Cow Disease — only in reverse.

Back in the mid-eighties when feeding meat-and-bone meal to cows made from their slaughtered companions was a common practice, the onset of MADCD was first detected. It took almost a decade to eradicate the occurrences of MADCD in the bovine food chain. Very few cases are reported today.

GAI machines suffer from the opposite fate. If they are not fed a continuous stream of new thought and knowledge the creativity they exhibit appears to degenerate. Whether or not GAI meets the challenge of becoming an intelligence to rival or better that of humans remains to be seen. If that does occur, the fate of humans becomes an interesting prospect.

As a side note, I spent some time in the late 70s installing and calibrating lumber-drying kilns in slaughterhouses. They were used to dry the blood of deceased cows which was then fed to the animals waiting in the feedlot. As far as I know, this was not proven to be detrimental to the waiting animals or humans. But you never know. I’ve seen some pretty strange human behavior, in the last couple of election cycles…

Closing Day at Sun Valley

On closing day at Sun Valley a lot of classic ski wear comes out of the closet. This fellow was sporting a 70’s era “Ski Team” sweater. He was kind enough to let me snap this photo. I voted him the best-dressed closing-day skier on the mountain.

Day #216

The Western Apache believe that the goal of life is to walk the “trail of wisdom.” For them, like the Cherokee and most Native Americans, the trail is a special place. To walk the “trail of wisdom” requires the walker to be focused on three things: “smoothness of mind,” “resilience of mind,” and “steadiness of mind.” These may seem strange, but when placed in the context of walking, they reflect an approach that helps the walker meet their goal… that is: Walking smoothly, steadily, and when necessary, resiliently. Someone who obeys these precepts is said to be on the right path. Cherokees call this ”du yu ko dv i.”

2025 Writing Project

A Year Pursuing Happiness

Each year I come up with a special writing project. The project has a topic that the entries revolve around. Past projects have also had a goal for the frequency of posting. All of this would be separate from normal journal entries like this one. Quite out of the blue this afternoon it struck me that reading influential texts on political and philosophical thought would be a worthwhile endeavor. To that end, I am going to propose (I’m speaking to myself now) that the following reading list would make an excellent goal. The inspiration for this project came from reading Jeffrey Rosen’s book “The Pursuit of Happiness.” It is a detailed yet readable presentation of the political and philosophical thought that guided the Founding Fathers. Rosen presents a list of the most cited books from the Founding Era. I propose to use this as the reading list for my project.

1. Cicero, Tusculan Disputations
2. Cicero, On Duties
3. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
4. Seneca’s Essays
5. Epictetus’s Enchiridion
6. Plutarch’s Lives
7. Xenophon’s Memorabilia of Socrates
8. Hume’s Essays
9. Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws
10. Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
11. Locke’s Treatises on Government
12. Adam Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments

I recognize this would be a significant undertaking, kind of like riding a bike across the country — I plan to do that as well. I won’t be able to do this alone. I’m not a scholar. I will need to consult supplemental sources to even understand most of the thoughts contained in these books, but that will be part of the challenge. I do have a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, but I don’t expect that to be of much help since I spent almost my entire working life programming computers. The irony of that does not escape me. I credit Jeffery Rosen for the inspiration. “The Pursuit of Happiness” is a book I think every thoughtful person should read — at least once.

Day #215

God’s Waiting Room

If you are wondering where God looks when it comes time to acquire another soul, look no further than the Super 8 Motel in Driggs Idaho. Keep in mind though, you have to be there at about 6 AM, on a powder day at Grand Targee.

Imagination

“Even as a man imagines himself to be, such he is, and he is also that which he imagines.”

— Paracelsus (1493-1521)

Our imagination has power. The trick is to tap into it. If we can do that, we can become much more than we might otherwise. By using our imagination we can shape our thoughts which in turn can lead down new roads.

Day #214

James Madison late in his life expressed the concept of a “commerce of ideas.” He believed that media, using as he put it, “the cool voice of reason,” could be used to influence the population, steering public opinion in a manner that favored reason and peaceful debate over selfish and irrational modes of thought. While this was likely the case in his time, today in the era of mass media for profit, all bets in this regard are off. The only thing you can be sure of is that the media you are consuming is doing the best it can to persuade you to view the world in the way most advantageous to its paid subscribers and commercial supporters. This applies to all outlets from the New York Times to Truth Social. Choose your content wisely and question what you are consuming.

Day #213

Thinking about Arthur Miller’s words (#209) I have to say that I miss my sweetheart when I am away from her. I don’t know how to put into words what she means to me. I am a lucky man to have stumbled into her life. It is revealing to say it was words that brought us together (another story perhaps). Words brought us together, I love to write, a coincidence possibly, but a fortunate one for sure.

Day #212

Frank Herbert said: (Paraphrasing) “The end of your life is the place where you stop the story.”

I started writing late in life. I might have gotten good at this if I had started sooner. I don’t regret coming to this choice later than sooner… I am enjoying this time with words very much. It brings me peace and a good bit of contentment. For my 70th birthday, my daughter gave me the first three volumes of Frank Herbert’s life work. I don’t think she knew how much I admire him, but now she does. Thank you, baby.

Day #211

Brenda Ueland said: “Everybody human has something to express.”

I don’t think she is telling us we all need to write some sort of manifesto. I believe she is saying we should think about leaving a few words behind that express who we are so that those who follow us can have a deeper appreciation for us.

Day #210

Joan Didion said: “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking.”

Spot on, I could not agree more. I do fear losing my mind, more specifically my memory. I’m sure writing will help to prevent that. That’s a big part of the reason why I do this.

Day #209

Arthur Miller said: “The best work that anybody ever writes is the work that is on the verge of embarrassing him.”

That’s easy enough for me to do but I suspect that’s not exactly what he meant.

Day #208

Madeleine L’Engle said: “Just write a little bit every day. Even if it’s for only half an hour.”

This may be the best advice from an author I have stumbled across. I appreciate that she does not attach any expectation to that writing because neither do I…

Writing is also good for old peoples’ brains.

Day #207

Jack Kerouac said: “One day I will find the right words.”

I’m searching. I’m getting closer but won’t get there unless I keep trying.

Federalist Paper #51

James Madison, whom I admire greatly, as much for his role in the establishment of our country as for his sheer brilliance, stated in the Federalist Paper #51 (the following is my paraphrasing) that when a government is formed the first priority is to give that government the tools to control the governed. It seems to me he is talking about laws. The second priority, and possibly most important, is to give the government the structure required to control itself.

The United States has come closer than any predecessor Democracy in achieving “a more perfect form of government.” We can and should learn from our ongoing experience. There may be no “perfect form,” but perhaps we should consider that life appointment to the Supreme Court is not ideal in practice. Might it not be better if appointments were made by a consortium composed of equally represented party membership taken from those persons elected to the Senate?

The Cat Who Taught Zen

“The Cat Who Taught Zen” is a wonderful little book. It is a primer on Zen. A collection of classic Zen stories woven together into a charming narrative that presents the stories in an abbreviated and simple fashion that even I can understand. The book is delightfully illustrated by the author, James Norbury. Many of the paintings are done in the Sumi-e style. A type of painting that uses black ink on special paper. The result gives a wonderfully spontaneous result to the finished subject.

Naturally, reading the book reminded me of my cat, Mr. Tux. I never thought of him as a Zen Teacher, but that is exactly what he is. If he could talk, I would have figured that out much sooner. His quiet non-verbal way of being is deceiving. What characterizes him most noticeably is the fact that he is constantly instructing. His way of being is his instruction. He is always in the moment when there is someone around him and paying attention to him. When he needs to be alone, he finds his way of managing that. I think this combination of being present for those who are around us, and withdrawing to a state of relaxation and contemplation when there is no one around is a fantastic lesson that I can use in my own life. I’ve been trying to practice this without really realizing what I was doing. Now that I have read “The Cat Who Taught Zen,” this has become all the more apparent to me, and all the more desirable.

Day #206

Virginia Woolf said: “So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters; and whether it matters for the ages or only for hours, nobody can say.”

Thank you, Virginia. Those are comforting words for me. I do hope that some of this will matter to my children. That’s what I think about most when I sit down to write.

Day #205

Edward Bulwerlytton said: “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

It’s nice to finally learn the name of the person that said that.

AHA Blood Pressure Notes

What follows is my handy reference copied from the AHA website…

Your blood pressure is recorded as two numbers:

Systolic blood pressure (the first number) indicates how much pressure your blood is exerting against your artery walls when the heart contracts.

Diastolic blood pressure (the second number)

indicates how much pressure your blood is exerting against your artery walls while the heart muscle is resting between contractions.

Typically, more attention is given to systolic blood pressure (the first number) as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease for people over 50. In most people, systolic blood pressure rises steadily with age due to the increasing stiffness of large arteries, long-term buildup of plaque, and an increased incidence of cardiac and vascular disease.

However, either an elevated systolic or an elevated diastolic blood pressure reading may be used to make a diagnosis of high blood pressure.

Here are my thoughts on this subject…

I’ve been diagnosed with Heart Disease (High Cholesterol) and occasional Hypertension (borderline) as well as non-acute seizures. None of this is particularly disturbing. You don’t reach age 70 without having something go off the rails physically. I can still bicycle, hike, and ski, so I have nothing to complain about I’m also learning not to use the word really in every other sentence, as in “I have nothing to really complain about.”

I also have an artificial Aortic Valve. That’s an interesting case. At age 64 it was discovered I was born with a bifurcated Aortic Valve. That means I have only two “leaves” in my valve instead of the normal three. This caused a “bypass” of blood each time my heart contracted, amounting to a less efficient pumping machine. It may have been discovered earlier and was ignored, I don’t really know. I suspect that is the case because I believe this condition is one that doctors prefer to treat later in life because of the risks inherent in surgery and the longevity of artificial heart valves — they have to be replaced on the order of every 10 years.

I try not to think about the long-term implications of all this. I may not live to celebrate my 100th birthday with younger members of the “70 Plus Ski Club.” Needless to say, that is my goal. It’s a matter of wait-and-ski. In the meantime, I’m following my doctor’s orders, really.

Day #204

Stephen King said: “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and get to work.”

Good advice, whether you are writing or not. Although I consider myself an amateur by any stretch of the imagination, it’s also the case that every day I simply “get to work.” Why? I enjoy it. I have faith that someday before I die, something I consider to be worth reading will come off my pen.

TransAmerica Final Leg

I started the TransAm bicycle route in Yorktown VA in the summer of 2023. I got as far as Missoula MT where I had to pause the trip due to timing. Now it’s time to finish…

RCG - Remote Campground

This is the rough itinerary for the final leg of my TransAm bicycle journey. This is the first cut. There will be some minor adjustments once I’ve had a chance to study the elevation profile this plan follows. This version of my plan is based on the locations of convenient campgrounds. This could change if the elevation between these stopping points turns out to be unreasonable (for a 70 year old man).

The tentative starting date is Saturday June 16, reaching Redmond on Tuesday July 2. I’ll rest in Redmond over the July 4th holiday (allowing the worst traffic to abate). I’ll resume Monday July 8, finishing in Florence on Friday July 12.

Day #203

C.S. Lewis said: “I never exactly made a book. It’s rather like taking dictation. I was given things to say.”

Ray Bradbury would say something very similar. There are writers and there are people who write. Let there be no confusion, I fall into the latter category. Someone close to me said recently, why do you spend so much time writing? My reply was slightly apologetic, essentially I gave as my excuse, you can’t become a writer if you don’t write.