Polar Plunge

 

• We are in the midst of a harsh arctic blast that has resulted in a region wide Cold Weather Advisor through Saturday at least.   Our current temperature is 0 degrees (F) (~ -17 C) with wind chill reading being at the moment -22 degrees (F) (~ -30 C).   Tonight's actual low temperatures are expected to drop to -11 degrees (F) (~ - 24C) and if the winds remain as predicted tonight, we would end up having a wind chill reading of -45 degrees (F) (roughly the same in C).
• My wife and I have tickets for a play tonight, however.  And, we had plans to eat dinner at a somewhat fancier, very pleasant Indian restaurant before the play, both of which are in a city perhaps a 45 minute drive from our location.   I am not sure what our plans are currently, nor if either the playhouse and/or the restaurant will be open.  Every K-12 school has closed in our vicinity and so has our U and the three other colleges nearby due to the risks for walkers getting frostbite. 
• My "illustrious" department decided to trudge on and had the Department Meeting via Zoom (sigh).  So, in addition to preparing lectures and things for next week (in my home office), I had to Zoom around at this meeting (which turned out to be as dull as dry toast at a fancy 5-Star restaurant).  
• It was already getting rather biting yesterday afternoon when I did meander my way to the nearby town to go to the Retiree's Cigar Group.  I was late as is usual this semester of the year.... but there were THREE of the fellows still hanging about, so it was a very nice time.  They eventually left after about an hour (because they had been there a LOT longer than me already).  I stayed about one additional hour after they left and spent the time reading.  
• The frigidity of today actually also caused the cigar shop itself to remain closed today.
• In determining IF we go out to eat and go to the play, I will be making that decision when I can speak with my wife a bit later.  She herself is Zooming as well.  But after she is finished Zooming, we are set to figure things out.  
• I did NOT run today.  I felt quite guilty about that, and much of the morning I was hemming and hawing about getting my beast of burden out of the garage (my vehicle) and going to the track to run.  It was not until late morning that I REMEMBERED that when the local K-12 schools are closed.... the township's indoor track ALSO CLOSES.  That had me feeling less guilty.  
• I had not posted here the last few days as I was feverishly working with several of my research groups to get some abstracts up-to-snuff for submission (which is due this weekend). It usurped any free time I had the last few days.  
• When I started to work in my home office around 7 am this morning, I decided to treat myself by opening five different pouches of my pipe tobacco and have them about me so I could capture each of their beautiful, different essences as I moved about working.  But, that was not a good idea, I think..... and I ended up sealing each pouch closed and tucking them away in their original drawers.... as I began experiencing some particularly strong yearnings from them.... vividly strong in fact.  And, the temptation to pack a bowl and bring it to life was much more robust than I had experienced in a long while.  
• If we DO go to the Indian restaurant, the dinner service does not offer a buffet where I can get small amounts of several items,, so I need to commit to one dinner focus.  I am debating three different choices at the moment.  Top on my list would be to order chana masala , but I also am thinking about palak paneer, or my third option that sounds good is aloo gohbi.
• The image above is about the "Polar Plunge" event associated with fundraising for the Special Olympics.  It usually occurs around this time of the year, and in our region a hole is cut into the ice of a small lake nearby and people pay and collect donations..... to wear a swimsuit and to hop off the ice to plunge into the near freezing water.  One year, several years ago, I was gearing myself up to actually PARTICIPATE in this event.  But, unfortunately it was cancelled the day before the event.... due to some issue I cannot recall at the moment.  In the intervening years, I have not been able to ratchet up enough courage (or foolishness) to try one more time to do this.   

PipeTobacco

Comments on Comments (For the Preceding Week)

I sure as hell HOPE I wrote and posted this comment reply post in the fashion I did last time, so it is easily readable by folks.  Please let me know if I am in error.

Also…. please note, comments from yesterday’s post will be in next week’s comments.  I try to take excerpts of comments from the preceding Monday-Friday.

AC stated:

“I have PF and usually try to slip my feet into something with a bit of a footbed whenever I get up at night or in the morning.

I have done that too!  But for this specific heel related PF, I have found that the position is not enough.... nor consistent enough to be helpful with the footboard pressure... especially since I am a very active mover much of the time when I sleep... rolling and moving around quite a bit.

“Long johns notwithstanding, you must be missing the winter storm that has begun here.

I mentioned it on your site too, so this may be a bit redundant.... because of a peculiarity of weather related lake effects, the storm swirled above and below us for some reason and we were relatively snow free (only ~2 meager inches).  

“Tis a rather glorious thing for you. I hope you get to meet a few fellows.

It is truly a very helpful/valuable thing for me.  It has allowed me to establish more NON-WORK friends that had somewhat declined over the years (mostly due to the passing of friends and relatives, but also sometimes due to their having moved to quite distant places).  I truly look forward to the comaraderie each and every week.  It feels joyful, it feels like I am MORE of a complete person by having these new friends.  

“Being ‘read to’ is often a pleasure.

I really like your statement.  I had not really thought of audiobooks in that way!  It is true... it is almost akin to being read to by my parents or by my elementary school teachers... which I did love.  I am finding this audiobook to be quite enjoyable and fun so far.  I am going to keep thinking about future audiobooks I may check out..... in that form of reference.... I am getting the joy of “being read to”.  

Margaret stated:

“I haven't owned a pair of long johns since skiing in my early 20s. It sounds like you'll be too warm inside yet comfortable outside, which is what I would prefer. Hope the cigar group goes well!

I have only started wearing long johns (other than when cross-country skiiing) about 20 years ago.  I actually like the feel of them on my skin.  I now wear them virtually all the time other THAN work.... during the Winter.  And, like I said in my post, I have sometimes now work them TO work as well.  

“I hope some of your friends are still there. Cigars and pipes aren't the same at all. No offense to your cigar group, but the smell of them is unpleasant, in my opinion. A pipe's smell is lovely and reminds me of books and a roaring fire. And my dad who smoked a pipe for a while.

I can fully understand your sentiments.  A lone indulger in a cigar in a space can be disruptive.  But, truthfully I can see that same sort of disruption being felt by folks in the presence of a long pipe smoker as well (and I have previously experienced their disprovement).  But... in the shop, when there is a full cadre of fellows all indulging in a cigar together, it is hard to describe, but it is wonderful, normal, and aromatically proper and pleasant.  In a similar vein the lingering aromas of my many pipes... that scent, which I can still capture glimpses of in my den, my U offices and U labs feels so beautiful and right as well.

“I'm not an auditory person and have avoided audio books. However, many of my friends LOVE them. They are versatile for people who are better listeners than I am. Those friends tell me that much depends on the narrator(s). There are great ones and awful ones and a whole bunch in between.

I have been truly surprised at how enjoyable this audiobook has been for me.  AC talked about how it is like being read a story as a kid... and that is exactly how it feels to me.  I suspect... at least for me, it has to be the right KIND of book to capture that type of enjoyment.  So, after I conclude this beautiful book about Hemingway, I will need to search carefully for another audiobook I hope to find as captivating.  

Pam J stated:

“I hope you’ve seen the Ken Burns/Lynn Novic 3-part documentary on Hemingway. Or maybe I hope you haven’t, because it’s great and generally available and you would probably like it. My husband is a big Hemingway fan, I’m a lesser fan, mostly because I let my feelings about Hemingway the man influence my feelings about him as a writer. His life provided good material for novels about his wives. I’ve read several.

I have!  It is/was so wonderful that I have watched it THREE TIMES.  I greatly enjoy Burn’s work overall.... but this was especially valuable for me.  I tend to find the ample good and ample bad aspects of Hemingway as a man are quite intriguing to learn about, and I think that is what attracts me to Hemingway biographies.  In some fashion it helps me to better see and recognize how psychologically complex we all can be (and likely are) inside.  I have read all his novels, and have enjoyed most.  The lesser known “Green Hills of Africa” and the well known “Old Man and the Sea” are the two that have resonated the most with me.

“Your Chill Guy has an entire wikipedia entry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chill_Guy

I thank you for finding the above out for me!  It was VERY, VERY interesting to read.  After your link, I ended up in a bit of rabbit hole exploring this character, the creator and his art.  Very interesting!  

Pat M. stated:

“Isn't "Learning Management System" really a euphemism for "Professor Management System"? Not only does a LMS allow a student to proceed through a course with greatly reduced interaction with a professor than used to be the norm; it requires the professor to adjust his course content to conform to the limitations of the LMS. Isn't this exactly what university administrators would want to promote if their goal was to minimize the personal mentor/mentee aspect of academia that was once its core, and replace it with a standardized consumer model where the differences between a course taught by a tenured professor and a course administered by an adjunct are greatly minimized and university policies become the dominant influence exerted evenly across all LMS-administered coursework? Great for bureaucrats, and for students who want their courses to be as interchangeable as items in a vending machine. But it's a very different model from how students progressed through their university education a generation or two ago.

I agree with you whole hearted on what I can be and can become.  I have tried to (I think successfully) to dig in my heels and to use my various LMS’s only for what I feel is MY benefit.... MOSTLY to make it easier for me to get documents and other things to students.... and to HELP ME keep track of documents myself and to HELP ME keep them more organized than I had typically been in my old acetate/overhead days.  

“Do the five binders imply that you are teaching five entirely different courses at once? Or are two or three binders perhaps for the same course but for different sections with different meeting times? I would think that having to keep up with five entirely different sets of curricula at once would be beyond exhausting!

Yes... five different courses.... four with different content, and one seminar.  One is more of a struggle because I only teach it sporadically, so I am not as easily able to rattle off lectures by simply walking in and talking.  For that sporadically offered class, I have review a bit and run through in my mind the ways I can smoothly segue between topics as well.  For the other three, I feel more like a well-oiled machine as I teach them much more regularly and frequently.  

PipeTobacco 

Good or Bad?

With today being the Martin Luther King Jr. official holiday, many folks will be writing specifically about him and his very strong significance in history.   I cannot add much of interest to that.  He was a very important and valuable figure.  He did work that was enormously positive.  On a friend's blog I lamented how he and several other folks who have come to define major national and global events in the 1960s.... and that at that time, there felt like a purpose and a hope for the future.  I also commented on how back in the 1960s I would never have thought our society would then have brought forth political "leaders" such as Reagan in the 1980s and our current Trump eras.  It is shocking and sad.

However, what I thought I would comment on a bit is how art can sometimes be viewed in contexts by different people in ways that I suspect artists may not have intended.  Three cases in point in song come to mind:

Abraham, Martin & John - This song, a tribute of sorts about good men who were assassinated because of their work.  This song is one that easily harkens one back to the feelings of hope and promise that many of us felt in the 1960s and juxtaposes how harsh things can be and are as well.  

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - This song, another song about an historical tragedy.... the destruction and sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald is a strong song that can bring forth tremendous emotions and remembrance.  

Ohio - This song, about the deaths of four Kent State University students on May 4th, 1970 also is about a horrific even of the era.  The emotions this song can evoke is also profound.  

The above three songs are exceedingly well known (at least by a certain age demographic) and each has exerted influence on a whole lot of folks, myself included.  And, at least for ME, I find each of these songs to be poignant reminders of good (the good leaders, the hard working folks, the protestors) and bad (their tragic deaths).  

But, what I also try to grapple with is that there have been many who denigrate the art of the three songs (as examples of many such things) as being in "poor taste" or in being "money grabs" because each song was a commercial success.  

While I can somewhat understand the ideas that some put forth that these songs did to some degree each "capitalize" on these very tragic events, I am much more of the opinion that each of these songs (and hell... art in general) was created to allow the artist to express his emotions about horrors that moved each of them.  To me, the better way to view these songs (and similar other types of art) is that each one is.... like any art in general.... a way for a person to communicate their thoughts and ideas and emotions.... with the hope of sharing these ideas with others.  

It is with this view that I listen to the above songs... I hear the musician's pain and emotion.... I can feel that pain and emotion again myself over the events when I hear these songs.  I see the songs as art, and as art about history... and at least for me, I cannot see these songs as anything but good.  

PipeTobacco 

Hoof & Mouth

The beautiful pipe I spoke of a couple of days ago has still been on my mind.  To me, it is exquisitely beautiful, in a rather artistic way.  I also think that it would be an absolutely wonderful smoking pipe as well.  It would be too damn foolish of me to actually buy the beautiful beast, as it is ~ $175 in price. So, I end up just sitting around, dreaming about it.  

I have not bought a new pipe in a helluva long time.  Well, actually….. I am closing in on what I think now is damn near eight full years (or is it nine?) (I will have to figure it out ) that I sadly laid down my pipes.  It seems like an eternity.  And, I know it was many years even before that sad day.... when I had purchased a brand-damn-new pipe.... because I already have so many.  

But, the one above..... I don't know..... it is a head turner for certain.

* * * * *

My heel-focused form of plantar fasciitis has been more stubborn and aggravating to get rid of than it was when I had a brief bout of it in my other foot. On my other foot it was primarily located in my foot's arch. 

What I figured out from experience, and confirmed while reading.... was that I could alleviate the pain and discomfort by programmed stretching.  But, no amount of stretching I have been doing every day seemed to permanently eliminate the discomfort.  I would go to bed hopeful, because I was pain free... but in the morning, the first steps would be AGONY.  It was getting me worried.... for I would have walk through the pain for 15-20 minutes to get it to reduce to a bearable level…. and then it would dissipate through the day.   It felt so illogical and painful.  

My earlier plantar fasciitis (in my other foot) went away quickly with adequate stretching. BUT.... apparently especially in the heel region, what can happen is that the tendonous area that is inflamed will naturally SHORTEN naturally while you sleep because when we sleep, we naturally point out toes (a movement called plantarflexsion).  Plantarflexion then results in the tissues healing in a more shortened length and upon awakening the region is stiff and can be painful….. and this causes a viscous cycle of ne inflammation.  This is NOT an issue when your plantar fasciitis is in the arch region.  

Yesterday, in the mail, I received what is called a pair of "night splints" that can be used to force the foot to maintain a position opposite that of plantarflexion  (called dorsiflexion).   I wore these devices when I went to sleep last night, and while not comfortable, it was not bad.  I COULD feel my foot with the plantar fasciitis, however, struggle a bit, and it felt sore having its heel stretched.  I slept in them until ~3:30, when I had to get up to go to the bathroom.  I took them off to walk to the bathroom, and the pain was dramatically reduced.  But I was so groggy that when I got to bed, I just went back to sleep without putting on all the various straps to the devices.  In the morning when I got up for the regular day, I could feel that my heel region had tightened some, so I think for this to work, I have to be more persistent.

But.... I am thankful that it appears I am on the right track now! From what I have read, perhaps in 2-3 weeks of this, I should be back to normal.

PipeTobacco   

Wind Chill

This morning, we are experiencing a wind chill temperature of -12 F (~ -24 C).  It is brisk to say the least.  The actual temperature was 6 F (~ -14C).  I decided to wear long underwear this morning under my normal professorial attire.  It will be helpful going between the several buildings today at the U.  I hope I do not get too warm in my actual classes, however.  It will also be useful for travel to the Retiree's Cigar Group as I park considerably far away in a zone that has 4 hours of free parking, instead of searching for an occasionally open 1 hour free parking spot (too short of a time to spend at the shop) or feeding quarters into the meters (which only allow a 1 hour supply to be added at a time).  I suppose I could fuss around and download, learn, and then use that community's "parking meter app" (I dislike that word, "app" as you know) so I could do it from my phone..... but the "gizmo-ey-ness" of it does not seem worth it.... when.... instead of paying..... I can walk farther and park for free.  It is only a few blocks.  Today, with the bitterness.... I may end up feeling a different solution might have been better.... but.... it is what I will do.  

The pipe I showed on my post yesterday.... I actually do not HAVE that particular pipe.  But, it is one I have been eyeing quite a bit the last several days as I window-shop (online) the various pipe shops.  It is a damn attractive beast, and I have a bit of an itch to want to buy it.  But, I keep reconvincing myself that it would be a superfluous, silly purchase for me.  

I am going to work with my flies and rodents now before heading to my classes.  And, as soon as I get out of class this mid-afternoon, I am traversing the land to the shop to HOPEFULLY see at least one or two of the guys in the group.  I hope so anyway.  

Addendum.... I am not sure what character the cartoon figure is that I chose to post atop of this post.  If anyone has a clue, please let me know.  I selected that image to correlate with the "wind chill" discussion.  

PipeTobacco

The "Hunger From Within"

Tomorrow is the day I go to attend the Retiree's Cigar Group.... and I am truly looking forward to it.... although I am going to arrive later than I would like due to this semester's schedule... and I am not sure who, if any will be there.  I HOPE at LEAST one or two of the gang are still hanging around so I can chat with them.  We shall see, however.  I know SOME of the fellows will have already left, which is sad, but understandable.  Retirees LIKE their plans and schedules.  I am only a "Apprentice Retiree" in the group.... and I regrettably cannot get there at the optimum time this semester.  

But, even though I have this event to look forward to tomorrow.... it does not quell nor dissipate the desire I have for a pipe.  When I DID indulge in a bowl of pipe tobacco back at my Dad's 102nd birthday.... the pipe was profoundly beautiful and actually quite hard to describe.... at least to describe ADEQUATELY.  Most folks would (perhaps) logically presume a cigar and a pipe are pretty much the same damn thing.  But, I can attest that this is not the case.  Please do not get me wrong..... I have grown to appreciate a cigar from being in the Retiree's Cigar Group.  But.... a cigar is really of little or no consequence when it is compared to a pipe.  I do not know how to explain it, as I cannot actually figure it out myself.  I just "know" it is true... at least for me.

Why am I bringing this up now?  Well.... the "hunger from within" for a pipe never actually abates.  But... in the ebbing-and-flowing of time it does undulate some.  Since this past Saturday, and even more elevated beginning this Monday.... the desire for a pipe had moved into a deeply strong position in my mind.  As you all know, I have smoked a pipe for a very long time….. since I was just a kid in fact.  But, a part of why I am again in the midst of an especially strong missing for the pipe is that it may be the association I had formed as a young, wet-behind-the ears prof long, long ago when I would be extremely nervous and jittery before heading off to class to expound on whatever subject I was teaching.  I remember how exquisite it was at the conclusion of lecturing for the day, where I would go back to my office, pack a bowl of whichever pipe struck my fancy, and just relax from the day.... and indulge fully and completely in that pipe.  It was so beyond beautiful.  It was akin to a celebratory hug that I would give myself for successfully surviving another (new for me then) day of teaching.   The celebratory nature of the pipe never left me.... even though I am no longer flummoxed or worried about being able to be successful in my lectures anymore.  At the start of this semester, I am feeling the loss of that “hug”.  

But, the beauty of that rewarding delight which is found in the bowl of my pipe.... that has been consistent and perpetual.  

PipeTobacco

Probably Should Have....

 

I probably should have talked a bit yesterday about why I have been absent for a bit:

• Not really much interesting to tell, however.
• I felt quite "low" emotionally during much of last week from a variety of concerns.
• I did continue to run (by brute force of will on myself..... not that I was enthused about running last week)
• I spent far too damn much time on the computer, adjusting dates for LMS's of my five classes (yes, Pat asked if I have five actual classes this semester..... yes...... FIVE.... two of which have laboratory sections as well.  But.... one is a seminar (which is really just a group discussion), so there is not much planning for that one.  A reminder in case you forgot.... an LMS is a "learning management system" which is "1984-speak" for an "electronic classroom" or even better stated.... a STORAGE SPOT... for STUFF for a course.  

I think I hit a bit of a rebound in my emotions when I went to my sister's 50th Anniversary Party on Friday of last week.  She married very early in life, whereas I married  considerably later (as is somewhat the norm for prof-types) .  It was very enjoyable.  It was great seeing a lot of my extended family.  There was wonderful buffet food.... I made a truly HUGE salad (to be honest, I had two full dinner plates of salad), had a full plate of very good cooked vegetables (a medley of all sorts of things including zuchinni and summer squash and a bunch more), and two Chicken breasts in a Cacciatore-style sauce..... Cacciatore is a rustic Italian dish with tomatoes, onions, lots of herbs, bell peppers, mushrooms, and wine infused into a chunky sauce.  

Over the course of the long evening, I also allowed myself to indulge in three (yes.... THREE) delightful gin-and-tonics.  I think it has been at least four years, perhaps five since I had a gin-and-tonic.  

Saturday morning, I felt tremendously better emotionally.  And, the weekend turned out to be very nice overall as a result!  

PipeTobacco