Another New Adventure

The picture above is Brad and I at Costco. Yes, I'm riding in a motorized shopping cart. Something was going on today and I was getting light-headed a few times this morning. I didn't want to get to the far reaches of Costco and get stranded, so I tried a cart. I had used a wheelchair before, but I have been having no issues recently and even exercising some. This was out of the blue and frankly more than a little humbling. I guess I've been getting a bit prideful in my recovery. I need to slowdown and remember this is a process like a cross country trip, not a race across town to the market.

A few things came to mind during this trip. One of the surprising things to me during the previous wheelchair trip is how nice people were to me in the wheelchair. At times it seemed like the Red Sea parting as I was pushed through the store. People were generous with space and we all left the store that day feeling good about humanity.

Today in the cart there wasn't the generous feeling. It wasn't that people were rude, there was just more hustle and bustle. Maybe that was because it was a very busy Saturday just after payday. There were few smiles on peoples faces. At one point I was sitting, waiting and watching people as they walked by. At least 50 people swarmed by on their way out the door, but no one was smiling. Costco is a fun place for me. Not today. Not with all the people. Not with the temporary setback with recovery.

A Little of This and That

As I sit and recover, I usually end up with too much time to think. I'm between books and the weather has been the typical Tule Fog of this time of the year with a few exceptions. With all that, I thought I'd share some thoughts.

Most of what needs to be planted has been. Thank you, Maureen. I can't do much in that realm yet. Today though is a nice, sunny day after a small rain. I will go out later and prune the peach tree, or at least help Wilson prune. We're pushing the limit of when they should be pruned, but the wet fog doesn't for an exciting time up a ladder. And yes, I admire those who are outside earning their living in this mucky cold weather.

The trees that need pruning are the in-ground big trees. The in the barrel trees have been shaped already. Those barrel trees have been the topic of discussion, as in they haven't all done well and maybe we need to get them in the ground soon. Also so we need as many as we have? Fruit is easy to get in this area, and relatively cheap. With our limited growing area we've been thinking of using the space to plant more vegetables. We still are uncertain about the sharecropper garden and what will happen there. So far we're still planting and working there. More to ponder.

Days like today make me want to get outside and do some work. A couple of weeks ago I did just that and hung a fence gate. Actually Wilson and I hung the gate with Wils doing the heavy lifting. I paid for it over the next few days and realized I did too much. Since then I've started physical rehab and can feel a difference. I still get tired easier, but seem to be gaining strength each week.

Which reminds me, am I older than my peers? When I go to church, rehab or my doctor, in general I am the youngest person by at least a decade. Nothing wrong with hanging out with older people, but it does seem strange at times.

I'll confess, I like to shoot. And shoot a variety of guns. Like any tool I think it's important to be proficient in using the tool, so that means more shooting. But that can be expensive. We've been discussing getting a new rifle, but will have to save for a bit. Then I watched a video and was reminded of archery. Less cost to operate and depending on what bow you buy it should be somewhat less than many rifles. Just another thought.

I was reading in the local paper that the San Francisco Bay area was having to limit and fine people for wood burning fireplaces because of poor air quality. Unlike the toilet bowl of the San Joaquin valley we live in, I always thought the Bay Area had an opening and air flow out to the Pacific that helped keep them relatively in clean air. I realize that the poor valley air is pouring over the hills along with the commuters to give the area worse air, but not to this extent. The article gave a surprising reason along with the commuters. The recent trend to entertain outdoors and the building of outdoor kitchens and pizza ovens has contributed. Or at least that is what the government can try to control. Or at least that is something the government is willing to try to control instead of all the cars on the road.

The night after reading the article I happened to talk to my brother-in-law that lives near the Bay Area and he mentioned they were on their 18th consecutive day of no burn restrictions. I have also heard that some the the Bay Area pollution is coming from China around the Pacific Rim and into the SF Bay area. Truly and example o what you do affecting others.

We may be closer to our first hoop house. We have been talking of cutting the concrete in the back and creating rows to plant in much like Salatin's Hoop House 5. We won't be cutting concrete soon, but we are talking of trying out a hoop house across the street to get a jump start on some vegetables. More on that if we do it.

The tree is calling. More thoughts later.

Think Like a Freak -- Book Review

What a title. If you have heard of the Freakonomics books, then you know the authors behind this book. The authors are economists and look at the world from that viewpoint. What you end up with is a different way of approaching a problem or issue. Along the way you learn that saying, "I don't know," is very hard for many people. Some people would rather be wrong than say that. So wouldn't it be nice to figure out who those people are before listening to advice?

The biggest lesson I learned from Think Like a Freak is incentive, both using incentive to get new results and understanding the incentive behind other's actions. If you can label the incentive behind people actions or thoughts, then you can modify or adjust the action. It's not always that easy though.

How Kobayashi became the hot dog eating champion by eating differently. Parents are a big reason students succeed or fail in school. How to kick a penalty kick in soccer. We tend to seek information that confirms our current beliefs. These and other actions are explained in unconventional ways. The book has many stories, one being stories are an effective way to teach people, that illustrate how some people truly think outside the box.

P.S. This is the second book I have read on the Kindle. I can see the benefit of storing many books on a single device. I'm more used to the format. And I still dislike the difficulty in skipping pages backwards to reread a passage. I have virtually given up the practice and wish there was a way around the problem. I will still use the Kindle for now though.

David and Goliath Book Review

Early in my coaching career I from time to time tell the story of David and Goliath as a motivator for athletic teams. Usually it was before our small school was to play a larger school. I even used the story in reverse to motivate a team that had too much confidence.  I stole the idea from a a friend and coach. This story of small vs. big has been in my thoughts. So when I heard of Malcolm Gladwell's new book, I was intrigued.

I wasn't disappointed. This is another example of thinking about the world differently than it might first appear. In typical Gladwellian fashion the author tells stories that show how the strong and powerful don't always win. If one thinks the power will always work we get a sense of ease over something we shouldn't.

After the story of David and Goliath we hear about a doctor on the front lines of the battle against childhood leukemia in the 50's, the 3 Strikes law in California, the 30 year battle in Northern Ireland and the story of a family dealing with the kidnapping and murder of their daughter. Each story is connected to the previous stories and Gladwell's ideas are woven through the book.

I personally on a bent to look at the world differently as I think we have more struggles ahead of us. Those that think will have a step up in these times. David and Goliath will help with this thinking.

To Read, or Not To Read

I consider myself a reader, though I don't read a much as some friends and family. I tend to read non-fiction and also try to persuade myself that these books make me think more. Sometimes yes and sometimes not. I just started the last book of Malcolm Gladwell, David and Goliath. I like Gladwell's writing and so far I have not been disappointed.

What I like about his writing is that he looks at the world differently and finds others with a similar bent to write about. This led to a discussion yesterday about a variety of topics, but the basis of the discussion was the thoughts from Gladwell and the writers of the Freakonomics books. I haven't read any of the Freak books, but intend to soon. The ideas for all of these books seem to come from people looking at numbers differently than is the norm. One Gladwell story is about how we choose a college determines some of our success, which is a common thought and choosing a prestigious university doesn't translate to success. They even tied our country's success in math and science majors to the colleges people attend.

Which makes you wonder about the "real" contribution of these major universities. The recent verbal blunders of the MIT economist Jonathan Gruber may seem rude, but they are consistent with his beliefs about other people. Gruber said that Obamacare was passed because of the "stupidity" of the American public. He also claimed the lack of transparency helped pass the law. Gruber was a well-paid advisor to the White House regarding the Affordable Care Act. Isolated incident?

In the middle 1990's Gruber headed a study that concluded that Roe vs. Wade was the reason the country was experiencing a lower crime rate. His reasoning was that fewer poor babies were being born since the 1973 Supreme Court decision. Less babies born in the 70's, fewer young poor adults in the 90's, less crime in the 90's. Seems a bit logical if you have a dim view of poor, single parent young people. And you forget that the crack epidemic had been squashed and New York had implemented the Broken Window policy.

My real thoughts are that one needs to look beyond the norm and think. Gladwell's books make me do that.

A Place of My Own Review and Using a Kindle

I just finished A Place Of My Own by Michael Pollan. You might recall that Pollan is primarily known as a food writer, The Omnivores Dilemma, In Defense of Food and other books. There is much to read by Pollan about food and worth the effort. This book is different as it's a 2 1/2 year journey building a writer's hut for himself.

Many of us, I know I do, have an almost innate desire to build. From childhood to present I have constructed and deconstructed various buildings, rooms and spaces. Pollan describes the entire process of talking to an architect friend who designs the 8' by 16' building. We get to be a fly on the wall as they discuss Craftsman vs. Modernism vs. Post-Modernism and their effects in building design. It was a bit slow at times, but informative as to why buildings today look like they do.

There is a ongoing description of the classic architect vs. builder divide over a building. The architect that is designing art is certainly to come into conflict with a builder that tries to construct a building that will stand and not leak in a rain storm. It was interesting to revisit this schism and Pollan even offers a historical basis for the split.

The main of the book though is the description of Pollan, a carpenter novice, building the hut with a hired hand who is opinionated as well as skilled. They discuss every detail as they build. I also found the sections interesting when Pollan goes to a local craftsman to have the windows built. The craftsman explains why the architect's design is flawed, ow it is flawed, why the windows will fail soon because of no water seal, and how to solve the issue.

Ultimately it is a good book about the desire for shelter and rest and the construction of that desire.

This is the first book I've read on a Kindle. I was generously given one for my post op recovery as I would be reading. Overall I liked the system. I enjoyed being able to change the font size of what was being read. With the larger fonts I was forced to scroll to a new page more often but that was worth the larger size and less eye strain. I disliked the effort it took to go back and reread a section, or refer to a diagram. With a book you can hold a place with your finger. Not so with the Kindle as you have to scroll back to the page desired and this could be more than a few screens.

I also have to further investigate a issue I had with my eyes watering. It only happened at night and after a day of reading. The backlighting of the Kindle didn't contribute to this, but I can't prove this idea. When the eye watering would start I would make the font larger and if it continued I would have to stop. Reading a laptop screen or a regular book usually stopped the watering. Again I have only this anecdotal evidence. I am looking forward to another book to see what happens.

Maureen also used the Kindle and she would jump from book to book and that shows the Kindle's ability to hold a library of books, truly a good thing for a reader.

To Have and to Get Rid Of

Almost 10 weeks after my surgery and I'm starting to feel normal. That coupled with plenty of time to think has made me realize I/We have much to clean up, reorganize and discard. We are overrun with stuff. Hopefully today that process begins. It will not be pretty.

A New Paradigm

Last night the sewer line was discovered to be plugged. We found out not in a pleasant way. Once I discovered it wasn't the toilet, but truly the line I drug out the manual snake and went to work on the line. I enlisted our youngest son to help. He is 23 and asks me to teach him some of the skills a young man should know. Unclogging the sewer line is one of those "Life Lessons" we worked on in the dark last night. So after a bit and no progress I figured we need a better snake or a plumber. We stopped for the night, made provisions for a temp toilet for the night and went to bed.

In the morning after trying in vain to get in touch with the plumber we rented a snake and cleared the clog. Really son did the majority of the work and I helped as I could. He learned a life lesson and had a few comments about sewer lines being smelly. The work wasn't difficult; how the work was done is where I had a problem.

Before my surgery I would have done the work alone or a majority of the job. I was reminded last night I can't so what I used to be able to do. Today was even a bigger lesson. I wasn't able to lift the motorized snake onto the cart to take it to the car. Not just unable because I hadn't healed, but physically unable to lift the weight. That hurt. I've always been the one to lead the work detail when it came to outside jobs. Firewood, no problem wielding a chainsaw all day long. Two weeks ago the kids wouldn't let me near the wood pile or lift any wood into the truck.

This has led me to a conclusion I'm uncomfortable with. This recovery is going to take longer than I expected and involve me letting others do more things for me than I'm used to. It could be a long rehabilitation.

The blessing is I have a wonderful family and helpful friends to make the journey with me.

This has been an eventful year. Some were expected; retirement, new work, continued gardening. Some things weren't; section baseball title, surgery. There has been much time to ponder what is to come and make choices about where we are going. Part of the problem with me is there are no big signs saying, "Go here and Do this." Most of our children are out of the house, but they like many young people are baffled about what to do in our economy and country right now. When their parents are asking the same questions, then there are multiple ships without rudders.

The blessing is that we still have options and still are getting things done on a daily basis. This next year will certainly be an adventure.